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Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations -of this book from the original English into another language provided -the translation has been approved by the Free Software Foundation and -the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all -copies. - -ISBN 978-0-9831592-0-9 -Cover design by Rob Myers. - -Cover photograph by Peter Hinely. - --><!-- Created on February 18, 2016 by texi2html 1.82 -texi2html was written by: - Lionel Cons <Lionel.Cons@cern.ch> (original author) - Karl Berry <karl@freefriends.org> - Olaf Bachmann <obachman@mathematik.uni-kl.de> - and many others. -Maintained by: Many creative people. -Send bugs and suggestions to <texi2html-bug@nongnu.org> ---><head><title>Free Software, Free Society, 2nd ed.: 34. Free but Shackled: The Java Trap</title><meta name="description" content="This is the second edition of Richard Stallman's collection of essays."><meta name="keywords" content="Free Software, Free Society, 2nd ed.: 34. Free but Shackled: The Java Trap"><meta name="resource-type" content="document"><meta name="distribution" content="global"><meta name="Generator" content="texi2html 1.82"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><style type="text/css"> -<!-- -a.summary-letter {text-decoration: none} -blockquote.smallquotation {font-size: smaller} -pre.display {font-family: serif} -pre.format {font-family: serif} -pre.menu-comment {font-family: serif} -pre.menu-preformatted {font-family: serif} -pre.smalldisplay {font-family: serif; font-size: smaller} -pre.smallexample {font-size: smaller} -pre.smallformat {font-family: serif; font-size: smaller} -pre.smalllisp {font-size: smaller} -span.roman {font-family:serif; font-weight:normal;} -span.sansserif {font-family:sans-serif; font-weight:normal;} -ul.toc {list-style: none} ---> -</style><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../web-common/style.css"></head><body lang="en" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000FF" vlink="#800080" alink="#FF0000" class="article"> - -<a name="Java-Trap"></a> -<header><div id="logo"><a href="/"><img src="../gnu.svg" height="100" width="100"></a></div><h1 class="book-title">Free Software, Free Society, 2nd ed.</h1></header><section id="main"><a name="Free-but-Shackled_003a-The-Java-Trap"></a> -<h1 class="chapter"> 34. Free but Shackled: The Java Trap </h1> - - -<blockquote class="smallquotation"><p>Since this article was first published, on 12 April 2004, Sun has relicensed most of its Java platform reference -implementation under the GNU General Public License, and there is now -a free development environment for Java. Thus, the Java language as -such is no longer a trap.<br></p> -<p>You must be careful, however, because not every Java platform is -free. Sun continues distributing an executable Java platform which is -nonfree, and other companies do so too.<br></p> -<p>The free environment for Java is called IcedTea; the source code Sun -freed is included in that. So that is the one you should use. Many -GNU/Linux distributions come with IcedTea, but some include nonfree -Java platforms.<br></p> -<p>To reliably ensure your Java programs run fine in a free environment, -you need to develop them using IcedTea. Theoretically the Java -platforms should be compatible, but they are not compatible 100 percent.<br></p> -<p>In addition, there are nonfree programs with “Java” in their name, -such as JavaFX, and there are nonfree Java packages you might find -tempting but need to reject. So check the licenses of whatever -packages you plan to use. If you use Swing, make sure to use the free -version, which comes with IcedTea.<br></p> -<p>Aside from those Java specifics, the general issue described here -remains important, because any nonfree library or programming platform -can cause a similar problem. We must learn a lesson from the history -of Java, so we can avoid other traps in the future.<br></p></blockquote> - -<a name="index-traps_002c-nonfree-libraries-2"></a> -<a name="index-libraries-_0028comp_002e_0029_002c-as-traps-1"></a> -<a name="index-Java-1"></a> -<a name="index-Sun-Microsystems-2"></a> -<a name="index-Swing-library"></a> -<a name="index-JavaFX"></a> -<a name="index-IcedTea-_0028see-also-Java_0029"></a> -<p>If your program is free software, it is basically ethical—but -there is a trap you must be on guard for. Your program, though in -itself free, may be restricted by nonfree software that it depends -on. Since the problem is most prominent today for Java programs, we -call it the Java Trap. -</p> -<p>A program is free software if its users have certain crucial -freedoms. Roughly speaking, they are: the freedom to run the program, -the freedom to study and change the source, the freedom to -redistribute the source and binaries, and the freedom to publish -improved versions. (See “The Free Software Definition,” on p. @refx{Definition-pg}{.) Whether any given program in source form is free software -depends solely on the meaning of its license. -</p> -<a name="index-traps_002c-nonfree-dependencies"></a> -<p>Whether the program can be used in the Free World, used by people -who mean to live in freedom, is a more complex question. This is not -determined by the program’s own license alone, because no program -works in isolation. Every program depends on other programs. For -instance, a program needs to be compiled or interpreted, so it depends -on a compiler or interpreter. If compiled into byte code, it depends -on a byte-code interpreter. Moreover, it needs libraries in order to -run, and it may also invoke other separate programs that run in other -processes. All of these programs are dependencies. Dependencies may -be necessary for the program to run at all, or they may be necessary -only for certain features. Either way, all or part of the program -cannot operate without the dependencies. -</p> -<p>If some of a program’s dependencies are nonfree, this means that all -or part of the program is unable to run in an entirely free -system—it is unusable in the Free World. Sure, we could redistribute -the program and have copies on our machines, but that’s not much good -if it won’t run. That program is free software, but it is effectively -shackled by its nonfree dependencies. -</p> -<p>This problem can occur in any kind of software, in any language. For -instance, a free program that only runs on Microsoft -<a name="index-Windows-3"></a> -Windows is clearly useless in the Free World. But software that runs -on GNU/Linux can also be useless if it depends on other nonfree -software. In the past, -<a name="index-Motif-_0028see-also-LessTif_0029-3"></a> -Motif (before we had -<a name="index-LessTif-_0028see-also-Motif_0029-3"></a> -LessTif) and -<a name="index-Qt-3"></a> -Qt (before its developers made it free software) were major causes of -this problem. Most 3D video cards work fully only with nonfree -drivers, which also cause this problem. But the major source of this -problem today is Java, because people who write free software often -feel Java is sexy. Blinded by their attraction to the language, they -overlook the issue of dependencies and fall into the Java Trap. -</p> -<a name="index-GNU_002c-GCJ"></a> -<a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU-Classpath"></a> -<p>Sun’s implementation of Java is nonfree. The standard Java libraries -are nonfree also. We do have free implementations of Java, such as the -GNU Compiler for Java (GCJ) and GNU Classpath, but they don’t support -all the features yet. We are still catching up. -</p> -<p>If you develop a Java program on Sun’s Java platform, you are liable -to use Sun-only features without even noticing. By the time you find -this out, you may have been using them for months, and redoing the -work could take more months. You might say, “It’s too much work to -start over.” Then your program will have fallen into the Java Trap; -it will be unusable in the Free World. -</p> -<p>The reliable way to avoid the Java Trap is to have only a free -implementation of Java on your system. Then if you use a Java feature -or library that free software does not yet support, you will find out -straightaway, and you can rewrite that code immediately. -</p> -<p>Sun continues to develop additional “standard” Java libraries, and -nearly all of them are nonfree; in many cases, even a library’s -specification is a trade secret, and Sun’s latest license for these -specifications prohibits release of anything less than a full -implementation of the specification. (See -<a href="http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/JSPA2.pdf">http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/JSPA2.pdf</a> -and -<a href="http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/final/jsr129/j2me_pb-1_0-fr-spec-license.html">http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/final/jsr129/j2me_pb-1_0-fr-spec-license.html</a> -for examples.) -<a name="index-Sun-Microsystems-3"></a> -</p> -<p>Fortunately, that specification license does permit releasing an -implementation as free software; others who receive the library can be -allowed to change it and are not required to adhere to the -specification. But the requirement has the effect of prohibiting the -use of a collaborative development model to produce the free -implementation. Use of that model would entail publishing incomplete -versions, something those who have read the spec are not allowed to -do. -</p> -<p>In the early days of the free software movement, it was impossible -to avoid depending on nonfree programs. Before we had the GNU C -compiler, every -<a name="index-C-programs-2"></a> -C program (free or not) depended on a nonfree C -compiler. Before we had the -<a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU-C-Library-5"></a> -GNU C library, every program depended on a -nonfree -<a name="index-C-library-6"></a> -<a name="index-libraries-_0028comp_002e_0029_002c-C-6"></a> -C library. Before we had Linux, the first free kernel, every -program depended on a nonfree kernel. Before we had BASH, every -shell -script had to be interpreted by a nonfree shell. It was inevitable -that our first programs would initially be hampered by these -dependencies, but we accepted this because our plan included rescuing -them subsequently. Our overall goal, a self-hosting -<a name="index-GNU-_0028see-also-both-software-and-GNU_0029-8"></a> -GNU operating -system, included free replacements for all those dependencies; if we -reached the goal, all our programs would be rescued. Thus it happened: -with the GNU/Linux system, we can now run these programs on free -platforms. -</p> -<p>The situation is different today. We now have powerful free -operating systems and many free programming tools. Whatever job you -want to do, you can do it on a free platform; there is no need to -accept a nonfree dependency even temporarily. The main reason people -fall into the trap today is because they are not thinking about -it. The easiest solution to the problem is to teach people to -recognize it and not fall into it. -</p> -<p>To keep your Java code safe from the Java Trap, install a free Java -development environment and use it. More generally, whatever language -you use, keep your eyes open, and check the free status of programs -your code depends on. The easiest way to verify that a program is free -is by looking for it in the Free Software Directory -(<a href="http://fsf.org/directory">http://fsf.org/directory</a>). If a program is not in the -directory, you can check its license(s) against the list of free -software licenses -(<a href="http://gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html">http://gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html</a>). -</p> -<p>We are trying to rescue the trapped Java programs, so if you like -the Java language, we invite you to help in developing GNU -Classpath. Trying your programs with the GCJ Compiler and GNU -Classpath, and reporting any problems you encounter in classes already -implemented, is also useful. However, finishing GNU Classpath will -take time; if more nonfree libraries continue to be added, we may -never have all the latest ones. So please don’t put your free software -in shackles. When you write an application program today, write it to -run on free facilities from the start. -<a name="index-libraries-_0028comp_002e_0029_002c-as-traps-2"></a> -<a name="index-traps_002c-nonfree-libraries-3"></a> -<a name="index-Java-2"></a> -<a name="index-GNU_002c-GCJ-1"></a> -<a name="index-traps_002c-nonfree-dependencies-1"></a> -<a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU-Classpath-1"></a> -</p><hr size="2"></section></body></html> |