JC, now the pieces are starting to fit for me -- the BEA representative made the comment that Java is too big now to be "controlled" (or some such word) by a single company. At the same time, he said that there was virtually no disagreement on technical specification issues. So, the point is, they don't want people to necessarily think "Sun Microsystems" when they think of Java 2 or J2EE. And, perhaps, they'd like the BEA web site to also offer JDKs, etc., but with no mention of their source being SUNW?
Then the iPlanet certification vs. WebLogic noncertification becomes a matter of Sun saying "BEA, you haven't fully signed on to J2EE (because of this branding disagreement), so therefore, whatever the merits of WebLogic, it cannot be certified J2EE compliant at this time." And BEA and IBM don't want SUN to be able to say who's product is certified and who's product isn't.
Well, we know for sure J2EE/EJB is going to be big, really BIG! It's a tug of war over dollars. Interesting. Sun wrote all the code. BEA and IBM, then, would have Sun become an Apache.org of sorts with regard to Java. Which, certainly, is an unfair request.
Thanks for stating the details, JC. Unfortunately I'm usually too busy to follow the news on matters like this -- but iPlanet's seemingly rushed certification struck me as quite strange and raised a flag for me.
I have a feeling this situation isn't going to change any time soon...
Kevin |
