-
Apple has finally lost patience with Java and tossed it from the Mac. The update that just happened is the last they’ll bring out, and OS X Lion won’t include Java support.
It’s been an off-and-on relationship for quite some time, rescued by 1:1 contacts each time the end has been threatened. This has to be a big negative for all the many developers who prefer to use a Mac than Windows to develop their Java code. Looks like the future for Ubuntu as a developer desktop just got several degrees brighter – does Steve Jobs ignore the Ballmer Imperative at his peril?
It’s hard to see how this can be recovered unless Oracle can sweet-talk Apple the way Sun used to each time someone screwed up. Having Oracle take over the development would be hard for several reasons:
- First, the Java port in use includes a lot of Apple know-how that is not generally available (such as private UI interfaces) to make Java integrate well rather than using just X11.
- Second, it belongs to Apple, so Oracle would either have to receive a copy of Apple’s implementation or start again with all the UI and platform native code.
- Third, distribution would move outside Apple’s update mechanism so keeping it patched and secure would be difficult – a new installer and update mechanism will be needed.
- Fourth, the new AppStore rules will make sure there’s negligible demand for consumer Java on the Mac.
It’s possible that an open source implementation could step into the breach, but I still have my doubts. OpenJDK for example is actually developed largely by Oracle, and after that (a long way after) by Red Hat, so the community would need to magically gain some hard-core Mac experts. I think this is actually bad news for everyone and that Apple’s pursuit of platform control in this specific case harms their customers. [Expanded version at ComputerWorldUK]
Also:
-
This has to be a candidate for an IgNobel Prize.
Filed under: Links |
Wild Webmink 
I think that this is being misinterpreted. Apple has deprecated Java because they don’t have the bandwidth to devote to maintaining it at the rate of Java updates.
What they have said is that you will still be able to use Soylatte or OpenJDK, which WILL be in step.
While there will be a bit of fiddling to set it up correctly (a nice installer?) then this is surely a win for Java devs as they will have a release that is more current and regularly updated.
And presumably most Java developers can work out where to put 3rd party Java software 😉
You could be right, but don’t underestimate the effort involved in creating a native Java for the Mac. Apple are used to programming complexity, and even they found Java a burden to maintain. Unless they release their implementation for others to maintain (I sincerely doubt Oracle will bother), the effort just to get started is going to be enormous. Unless you want to live in X11, of course.
No java on my mac would mean the end of OSX as my platform for daily work. Who in the world does not want (to put effort into) a java implementation on their platform in 2010?!
So what happens to WebObjects which runs iTunes? Will it be sent back to Objective-C land where it came from?
What’s up in general with WebObjects. I’m a “pro-sumer”; not a developer, but I used to hear how WO was decades ahead of everything else. It was running the Dell on-lone store and the Apple store, and lots of other mission critical sites.
I haven’t heard much about it lately, but server oriented software rarely makes for headlines. So, I ask, is it getting used? Has some 3rd party (presumably noy MSFT, who couldn’t code their way out a bag paper bag) caught up?
[…] the many developers who prefer to use a Mac than Windows to develop their Java code,” reads a blog post from Phipps. “Looks like the future for Ubuntu as a developer desktop just got several […]
I don’t get it: There ARE those developers who make desktop apps in java, but the bulk of concern seems to be about using a Mac for cross-platform development. Mac-specific customizations for those users would seem to be a shortcoming. Why wouldn’t these devs WELCOME support directly from Oracle?
And on the other hand, if Macs are moving towards an interoperable future with iOS devices, how can Oracle enforce the IP rights they assert vs Android but allow custom communications capabilities called from Apple OS devices?
We’re witnessing an astonishing change: the very developers who are supposedly responsible for pushing the tech envelope are reacting negatively to tech developments that make computers even more broadly useful.
[…] JVM on OS X my company will have to develop our server side projects on a different platform. From Simon Phipps: This has to be a big negative for all the many developers who prefer to use a Mac than Windows to […]
BULL.
JAVA from Oracle SHOULD USE X11.
After all, JAVA is a cross-platform development platform.
X11 allows the rapid development of JAVA that works on both Linux and Mac OS X.
It is trivial to convert JAVA for Linux to Mac OS X if it was done through X11. This would allow Oracle to easily port JAVA to Mac OS X using its own work.
Apple Killed The CD
and tossed Java from the Mac
[…] to implement without significant Apple involvement. OSI director and former Sun open-source guru Simon Phipps also points out that this move effectively leaves Mac-toting developers with a hard choice: stick with their Mac […]