The Harmony PMC have had a brief discussion about the goals of the Harmony project, based upon statements made in the last JCP face to face meeting. Now that the nature of those statements has become public elsewhere [1], the 'Harmony goals' discussion can move onto the public list here.
As you know, the current goal of Apache Harmony is a compatible and *compliant* implementation of Java SE. In the last JCP meeting Oracle made a definitive statement regarding Apache's long-standing request for a JCK license that is compatible with our desire to release Harmony under ALv2. The official version of the definitive statement will eventually be reflected in the JCP meeting minutes, but the unofficial version is that Oracle stated they will not offer the Java SE JCK license we need to complete our goal. It was clear that this is a final decision from Oracle and that there are no further opportunities for productive discussion on this topic. This means that Harmony's current goal is unachievable. However, we have a wonderful resource in the code and contributors that have got us to this point. So the question is what happens from here? What are the new goals for Harmony that will move us on beyond this impasse? I think all options and opinions are open for discussion. We could simply continue with the current goal and encourage the Apache Board to seek the JCK license by whatever means is posible, we could modify our goal and plan to release an uncertified Java SE runtime, or more radically change Harmony's goal away from Java SE. There are many options. I'll just put the question out there at the moment, and save my own opinions for a later post. What do you see as the future roadmap for Apache Harmony? [1] e.g. http://s.apache.org/xI Regards, Tim
