Thanks for all the comments I've had on this issue...
I still don't know what the actual patent issues are -- I did try
browsing the patent archives, but although Sun have lots of patents, I
didn't see any that struck me as immediately relevant to JavaSpaces.
But the search wasn't exhaustive. And the experience reinforced by
views on software patents in general (patents on linked lists,
anyone?). I'm going to try contacting Sun for their verdict on this.
In the mean time, the issue of `is JavaSpaces the right way to go' has
cropped up. This is an interesting one: I'd already had some `I'm not
sure I would have done it that way' issues with JavaSpaces. On the
other hand, there are attractions for staying with an established API.
Assuming for a moment that the patent issue is resolvable, does anyone
have any strong views on whether they would prefer to see a compatible
implementation of the JavaSpaces standard, or some attempt to get an
`JavaSpaces done right' project off the ground?
Finally, just out of interest, is there anyone here who has built any
big applications with JavaSpaces themselves? Myself, I've read various
tutorials, plus the original specification documents, and have certain
ideas about how I would use the API for my own applications, but since
I'm avoiding Sun's implementation (or rather their licence) at the
moment, I haven't actually tried them out.
Thanks,
Thomas.
