Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Biting the hands that feed you

news
Aug 23, 20041 min

Sun Microsystems apparently has taken a peculiar stance in its relations with Javalobby, a developer community with more than 150,000 members.

Citing business interests, Sun demanded that Javalobby remove from its new JDocs Java documentation Web site several Sun-owned APIs, including J2EE and JavaServer Faces, according to Javalobby founder Rick Ross.

Sun has declined to comment on the situation, other than to say it is working on a resolution with Javalobby. But I have to ask, how can it be in Sun’s business interests to upset your own loyal users? How, exactly, would Sun lose income by letting the Javalobby people post the APIs on their own Web site?

All this is happening while Sun has found itself defending its position as steward of the Java programming language and fending off a tide of cries to make Java available through an open source format. This incident only gives credence to those who claim Sun still wants tight-fisted control over Java, and only serves to upset more people.

I say, live and let live – let Javalobby post the APIs and do not bite the hands that feed you.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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