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 <title>Free but Shackled - The Java Trap
 - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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 <h2>Free but Shackled - The Java Trap</h2>
 
 <address class="byline">by <a href="https://www.stallman.org/">Richard
 Stallman</a></address>
 
 <div class="emph-box" style="background: none">
 <h3 class="footnote">Headnote</h3>
 <p>Since this article was first published, Sun (now part of Oracle)
 has <a href="https://www.fsf.org/news/fsf-welcomes-gpl-java.html">relicensed</a>
 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.</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.</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. (Note, added 10/2015: The free implementation
 of Java is known as OpenJDK in many GNU/Linux distributions.)</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.</p>
 
 <p>In addition, there are nonfree programs with &ldquo;Java&rdquo; 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. (Note, added 10/2015: A free
 replacement for JavaFX called OpenJFX has been released.)</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.</p>
 
 <p>Please also see: <a href="/philosophy/javascript-trap.html">
 The JavaScript Trap</a>.</p>
 </div>
 <hr class="no-display" />
 
 <p><em>April 12, 2004</em></p>
 
 <p>
   If your program is free software, it is basically ethical&mdash;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
   <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">Free Software Definition</a>.)
   Whether any given program in source form is free software depends
   solely on the meaning of its license.
 </p>
 
 <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&mdash;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 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, Motif (before
   we had LessTif) and 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>
 
 <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 <a
   href="https://objectcomputing.com/resources/publications/sett/january-2003-gcj-the-gnu-compiler-for-java">
   GNU Compiler for Java</a> (GCJ) and <a
   href="/software/classpath">GNU Classpath</a>, 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, &ldquo;It's too much
   work to start over.&rdquo; 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 &ldquo;standard&rdquo; 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 the
   <a href="https://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/JSPA2.pdf">
   Java Specification Participation Agreement</a> and the
   <a href="https://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/final/jsr129/j2me_pb-1_0-fr-spec-license.html">
   J2ME&trade; Personal Basis Profile Specification</a>
   for examples.)
 </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 C
   program (free or not) depended on a nonfree C compiler. Before we had the
   GNU C library, every program depended on a nonfree 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 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 <a
   href="https://www.fsf.org/directory">Free Software Directory</a>.
   If a program is not in the directory, you can check its license(s)
   against the <a href="/licenses/license-list.html">list of free software
   licenses</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.
 </p>
 
 <h3 class="footnote">See also:</h3>
 <p><a href="/philosophy/sun-in-night-time.html">The Curious Incident
 of Sun in the Night-Time</a></p>
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 <p>Copyright &copy; 2004, 2010, 2015, 2021 Richard Stallman</p>
 
 <p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
 href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative
 Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p>
 
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 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
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