> -----Original Message----- > From: Dr. David H Chan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
snip . . . > > > This is where I am lost... Sorry about that. This has confused people more than one person I think. Here's the really simple explaination . . . Sun distributes Java under an open license, but at one time they did not release all the code. In particular the source code for the Java classes was left out. This has changed I think with the release of the Java platform for Linux. Here's the longer explaination . . . Java is first and foremost a platform specification. That means that if you follow the specification Sun put together you can build your own Java Virtual Machine and Java Platform with your own code, and consequently license that code under GPL. If you look at the internals of a Java Virtual Machine (the part of the Java platform that actually runs Java code), you will see that the design of the Virtual Machine is conceptually simple. The Java libraries (java.util, java.Math, etc. . . ) themselves are all written in Java for the most part. When Sun started releasing the code for the Java platform to the public, the company selectively omitted parts of the code. You got just enough code to get an idea about what was going on behind the sceenes, but that's all. Methods were declared, but left empty. That's as I recall it. I think this has changed with the release of the Java Virtual Machine for Linux. I think you now get all the code for the Java platform. > > David H Chan, MD, CCFP, MSc > Assistant Professor > Department of Family Medicine > McMaster University > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Schilling, Richard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 11:42 AM > Subject: RE: OSCAR update, was Re: Medical open source in Malaysia > > > > The kaffe project has all the Java classes written under GPL: > > http://www.kaffe.org. > > > > But, Sun's distribution of the source code as I recall is > just the object > > shell - you only get the method declarations and not any > actual code for > > some classes. > > > > > > > > Richard Schilling > > Webmaster / Web Integration Programmer > > Affiliated Health Services > > Mount Vernon, WA USA > > http://www.affiliatedhealth.org > > phone: 360.856.7129 > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: Dr. David H Chan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > > > Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 6:20 AM > > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Subject: Re: OSCAR update, was Re: Medical open source in Malaysia > > > > > > > > > Do you have an example of a GPL as applied to Java? I was led > > > to believe > > > that there are certain classes in Java to which the GPL > > > cannot be applied. > > > > > > David > > > > > > > > We won't be releasing our code any > > > > > time soon. Our difficulties have always been not knowing > > > clearly what > > > our > > > > > Open Source licence should look like. > > > > > > > > It should look like the GPL. > > > > IMHO. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > >From one of the Linux desktops of Dr Adrian Midgley > > > > http://www.defoam.net/ > > > > > > > > > > Richard Schilling Webmaster / Web Integration Programmer Affiliated Health Services Mount Vernon, WA USA http://www.affiliatedhealth.org phone: 360.856.7129
