DZone
Java Zone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
  • Refcardz
  • Trend Reports
  • Webinars
  • Zones
  • |
    • Agile
    • AI
    • Big Data
    • Cloud
    • Database
    • DevOps
    • Integration
    • IoT
    • Java
    • Microservices
    • Open Source
    • Performance
    • Security
    • Web Dev
DZone > Java Zone > Java on Mac OS X Lion: the redux

Java on Mac OS X Lion: the redux

Axel Rauschmayer user avatar by
Axel Rauschmayer
·
Oct. 26, 10 · Java Zone · Interview
Like (0)
Save
Tweet
12.80K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free
Update 2011-02-26: OpenJDK: Mac OS X Port Project

Update 2010-11-12: “Oracle and Apple Announce OpenJDK Project for Mac OS X”. This is how it should have been done all along, before announcing the deprecation. Then either Apple didn’t think this through or it used it as a negotiation tactic.

Apple is currently warning developers that Java might not be bundled with Mac OS X Lion. Jobs later clarified:
Sun (now Oracle) supplies Java for all other platforms. They have their own release schedules, which are almost always different than ours, so the Java we ship is always a version behind. This may not be the best way to do it.
Observations:
  • Apple obviously and understandably does not want to handle Java, any more. In the past, it has been slow to support the newest version, so this change could be for the better.
  • Having Java on the Mac is important, because many developers need it. Those developers mainly work on server-side applications, so their work is not directly relevant for Apple. But they are still an influential group whose support Apple won’t want to lose. Java is also crucial for education. I don’t know of any software-related degree where Java or the JVM is not needed at some point.
  • Oracle is very profit-driven and server-oriented, so I’m not sure if they see a business case for Java on Mac OS X.
  • There is an open source Java for the Mac, but it runs under X-Windows, thus Swing is not well integrated (but: Eclipse and SWT run on it, too). There is a petition for Apple to hand over its custom code to the open source community. I think, we’d only need a part of it. While the Swing Aqua look and feel was nice, Nimbus (which appeared in Java SE 6u10) is good enough for me. Mimicking Apple’s GUI will always be a moving target, anyway. Maybe Apple thought about the difficulties of implementing the new look of Mac OS X Lion in Swing and considered it too expensive.
  • The main problem is that neither Apple nor Oracle have really communicated what all of this means. They should have consulted before Apple dropped this kind of a bomb. Now people are free to speculate and some blame Apple, others blame Oracle.
Links:
  • “shoes[1].drop();” is a good in-depth analysis by Chris Adamson. It makes the point that Desktop Java is currently problematic and mainly used to support server-side Java development.
  • Dear Oracle, Get a Clue
  • Mind Bug: Java for Mac, not Oracle's business
  • Good news, Apple deprecated Java
  • Java on Mac OSX: The Ball is in Oracle's Court 
  • Apple drops Java and more: so what?

 

From http://www.2ality.com/2010/10/java-on-mac-os-x-lion-redux.html

Java (programming language) Mac OS X OS X Lion Open source

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Popular on DZone

  • JUnit 5 Tutorial: Nice and Easy [Video]
  • What SREs Can Learn From the Atlassian Nightmare Outage of 2022
  • Java Hashtable, HashMap, ConcurrentHashMap: Performance Impact
  • What Is Lean Software Development?

Comments

Java Partner Resources

X

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Send feedback
  • Careers
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • MVB Program
  • Become a Contributor
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 600 Park Offices Drive
  • Suite 300
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • support@dzone.com
  • +1 (919) 678-0300

Let's be friends:

DZone.com is powered by 

AnswerHub logo