Sun Microsystems Inc. said it will offer Java for free to widen distribution and adoption of the software platform among developers and companies using open- source technology such as Linux.
Java is being distributed under an open-source licensing plan that lets developers view and modify the software and also distribute it for free with other open-source technology, Santa Clara, California-based Sun said in a statement today.
Sun created the Java programming language in 1995 to give developers a way to write software once and have it run on different devices and operating systems. Up until today, Sun has kept a protective hold on Java to ensure implementations remain compatible, and even won $20 million from Microsoft Corp. in 2001 after challenging its modifications to the program.
“The current licensing had made it difficult to package and redistribute the Java platform by Linux and open-source developers,” said Stephen O’Grady, a technology analyst with RedMonk LLC in Denver. “Sun and the Java platform will be able to address a much wider audience.” There are more than 5 million Java developers today and the software is used in 4 billion devices including personal computers and cell phones, according to Sun. The company said it will continue to offer commercial products based on Java. Sun doesn’t disclose software revenue.
In June, Santa Clara, Calif.- based Sun Microsystems acquired Louisville-based Storage Technology Corp.
Shares of Sun, the world’s third-largest maker of servers, fell 15 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $5.27 on Nov. 10 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They’ve gained 26 percent this year. International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are the world’s largest makers of servers, computers used to run corporate networks and Web sites.
Java’s new licensing fulfills a promise made by Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Schwartz and Chairman Scott McNealy in the past two years to provide all of Sun’s software under an open-source license as they work to convince developers to embrace their technology and customers to buy service contracts. Sun last month said more than 6 million licenses for its Solaris operating system software have been delivered since it made a version available for free in January 2005.
As with Solaris, a free license to Java should spur developer adoption, lead to more interesting applications and peak customers interest in buying other Sun products and services, Rich Green, executive vice president of software, said in an interview.
“Java will grow and succeed as more individuals use and adopt the technology,” Green said. “Developers are precursors to revenue. The more value they add, the more valuable Java becomes.” ‘Disincentive’ Schwartz has said for the past several months the company was working to determine how to make Java available as open source while ensuring its compatibility. Under the Java licensing plan chosen, developers who modify the program must also freely distribute the software code containing their modifications.
That should serve as a “disincentive” to anyone trying to co-opt Java, O’Grady said.
Sun accused Microsoft in 1997 of trying to use its Windows monopoly to cripple adoption of Java, which the Redmond, Washington-based company considered a threat to its operating system software. Microsoft settled the suit after a judge ruled that its implementation of Java didn’t comply with a licensing agreement.
