Sandip Bhattacharya sandip@lug-delhi.org writes:
You mean it is not an open standard, controlled by an industry wide committee. You are right there.
But believe me, in practical terms, the Java specs are more easily and freely accessible than ISO standards. Try obtaining any ISO standard yourself and you will see.
Er., it not just the obtaining part. It is subject to the control of the company. In such a case, we are forced to rely on the good behaviour of the company based on history. And, there are patents all over the technology which will make it hard to develop JREs.
Free Software that depends on patented technology is basically a sitting duck which wont last long. Morover OpenOffice is such a crucial piece of software. With its alternatives still lagging behind, it is very sad how Sun is controlling it with its proprietary technology.