Oracle, the Open Source Killer.
This post was originally published here.
It’s a public secret that Oracle aims to destroy open source projects. According to their company policy and what they’ve done so far, I think I don’t have to tell you about it. But there’s something I really want to write about, in case you’ve forgot what Oracle’s true face is.
Lastfiveyearshasbeenthemostdifficultagesforopensourceprojectsandotherinnovativecompanies.Butthetruthis,Oracle’sacquiresstartatyear1994,theyboughtacompanycalledRdbDivisionofDigitalEquipmentCorporation.Iassumethat’sthestartingpointofmodernOracleRelationaldatabase.AlistofOracle’sacquisitionscouldbefoundatTHISPAGE.It’sprettyimpressivelist,Ithink.Fromdatabasestodata-miningtechnology,bankingindustrysolutions,virtualdirectorysolutionsevenpaymentsolutions.Wow,lookslikeOracle’sbuildingahugenetofmoderncommunity.I’mnotaguywhocanstopthem,afterall,OracleisacompanybutnotacharityandItotallyunderstandthat.
Butthischangedoesn’tfixanythingofitsgreed.Idon’thavetoremindyouthatOracleissuingGoogleforJavapatentsinAndroid.Thiscasemightchangethewaywe’reusingJava,andwehaveenoughreasonstobelieveitwould.JustbecauseOracle’sCEOLarryEllisonthinkstheycanprofitfromitdoesn’tmeanthattheyreallycan.Lookbacktheseyears,Microsoftwantstokillmostoftheopensourcecommunity,butdidtheywin?Tenyearsago,SteveBallmer,CEOofMicrosoftsaid"Linuxisacancer".Unfortunately,theyhiredGianugoRabellinoanddecidedtobemoreopen.ThewarbetweenthemiscometoanendasGianugoRabellinosaid"we’remoreopenthanyoumightthink".Maybeit’stooearlytosaythat,butIthinkthisisahappyendingforallofus.
Somedaysago,iteye.comoneofthemostfamousJavacommunityinChina,hadreceivedaletterfromattorneys.ItwasOracleagainswungtheirfiststoalittleinnocentcompanytothreatenthemforsomekindoftort.It’sjustonlybecauseiteye.comhasa"Java"wordintheirdomainname.Samethingshappenedbefore,likeJavaWord.com.twhadtochangetheirlogo.Iknow"Java"isatrademarkofOraclerightnow,butwhatIdon’tunderstandiswhyiteye.com.So,maybeJavaScripthastochangetheirnametoo?It’slike,ifyou’regonnahaveababybutyoucan’tnameyourchildas"John".Becauseyoudon’twanttofindsomeoneelsejumpoutandtellyou"Hey,Johnisatrademarkofmycompany,andyoucan’tuseit".It’sjustridicules.
ThoughtOraclenevermentionedaboutdomainnamechange,@Robbin,founderofiteye.comdecidedtochangetheirdomainnameincludinglogoafteralongnegotiationwithOracle,inordertokeepoffthefuturethreatensmightcoming.AJavacommunitywhichhasbeenrunningfor7years,ended.Awebsitewhichhas800,000registeredusersand1,300,000PVeachday,vanished.Yeah,Iamahugefanofiteye.comandI’mreallydisappointed.It’salmostamassacre.OracleboughtBEAandsoonDev2Devisdead.AfteracquiresofSun,MySqlisdeadandNetBeansdisabled.EvenJamesGosling,FatherofJavahadleftOracle.
Inshort,thewarbetweenopensourceprojectsandOraclehasstartedalready.Asadeveloperwhichsideyouon?What’sthefutureofJava,Androidandotheropensourceprojects?Itistheverytimetogiveaseriousthoughtaboutit.
AlistoflawsuitsaboutOracleandusingtermof'Java':
OraclesuesGoogleoverAndroidandJava
Oraclesuesiteye.comoverusingtermof'Java'
JavaCreatorJamesGoslingLeavesOracle
WhathappenstoMySQL?