The setting Sun: responses to the acquisition

Oracle's acquisition of Sun last month raised many questions about the future of Sun's core technologies, especially the company's popular open source software projects. Some of those questions have been answered, but a lot of ambiguity still remains.

Details have emerged about Oracle's views on Java and Solaris. The open source software community has also articulated its own views about the acquisition--some are hopeful that Sun's key open source software projects will be given new life and more progressive stewardship while others are calling for forks.

Following the acquisition, Sun CEO Larry Ellison expressed strong enthusiasm for both Java and Solaris--indicating that Oracle takes both technologies very seriously. He reportedly characterized Java as "the single most important software asset we've ever acquired" and described Solaris as "the best UNIX technology available in the market" and the "heart of [Sun's] business."

Despite this affirmation of commitment to Solaris, Oracle does not appear to have any immediate plans to discard its Linux business or terminate its Linux development projects. One of Oracle's most significant contributions to the Linux kernel is Btrfs, a next-generation filesystem that will eventually take the place of Ext4. Oracle's acquisition of Sun created some ambiguity about the future of Btrfs and led some to wonder if Oracle would abandon the project in favor of Sun's ZFS. Oracle's director of Linux kernel engineering, Chris Mason, has posted messages on the Btrfs mailing list explaining that the acquisition will not impact Oracle's goals for Btrfs.

"Just a quick note about the recently announced purchase of Sun by Oracle. This does not change Oracle's plans for Btrfs at all, and Btrfs is still a key project for us," he wrote. "I can't read the future, or really say the future directions of any of the Sun projects. What I do know is that btrfs development will continue, and that Oracle's work on btrfs will not end or decrease."

Oracle's interest in Java and Solaris has been made pretty clear, but the future of the open source MySQL database is less so. Monty Widenius, one of the original founders of the MySQL project, has shared his views on the subject in a blog entry. Widenius abandoned Sun earlier this year, citing frustration with the project's direction under Sun's leadership. He founded Monty Program Ab, a company that will focus heavily on the new Maria storage engine for MySQL.

In his blog entry about Oracle's acquisition of Sun, he says that Oracle could lose control of the project as all of the core developers flee from the company and pursue opportunities elsewhere. He proposes that his own company could serve as the independent arbiter of the project, ensuring that a free and open version continues to advance and see significant development.

He has offered to provide some jobs to MySQL refugees who decide to leave Oracle. His goal is to keep the MySQL "talent pool" together and ensure that the project's best developers can continue contributing to the MySQL ecosystem. He has also offered to collaborate with Oracle, and suggests that his ongoing involvement with the project in a neutral capacity could be beneficial for Oracle because it would help preserve the trust that users place in MySQL.

"Oracle, not having the best possible reputation in the Open Source space, will have a hard time keeping the remaining MySQL people in the company or even working on the MySQL project," he wrote. "Here I see where Monty Program Ab, can play a significant role. Since I left Sun, I have been working on making it to be for Sun what Fedora is for RedHat. With Oracle now owning MySQL, I think that the need for an independent true Open Source entity for MySQL is even bigger than ever before."

Another project with a cloudy future is OpenOffice.org, Sun's open source office suite. Sun's stewardship of OpenOffice.org has been mired in controversy. The company often clashed with other major contributors, especially Novell. Many critics of Sun's conduct have called for OpenOffice.org to be spun off into an independent foundation with vendor-neutral governance so that all interested parties can participate in enhancing the project on even footing. Such advocacy has been renewed in the wake of the acquisition.

OpenOffice.org marketing head John McCreesh shared his perspective in a blog entry, in which he defends Sun's record as the project's leader, but acknowledges that an independent foundation is the best way forward.

"At every OOoCon I have attended there have been debates on the conference floor, in meeting rooms, or in bars about the pros and cons of having an OpenOffice.org Foundation - an independent legal entity to own the trademarks and have joint copyright of the code, with its own finance and governance," he wrote. "Philosophically, I am bound to agree that this feels the 'right' model for an open-source community."

As Sun is assimilated into Oracle, these open source software projects could be significantly transformed by the transition. Its still unclear what role Oracle intends to play in the communities associated with Sun's projects, but Oracle appears to be interested in moving forward with Java and Solaris.