On Wed, 2010-12-15 at 15:05 -0500, Linder, Doug wrote: > > > We won't know until after Oracle releases Solaris 11 whether or not > > > they'll live up to their promise to open the source to ZFSv31. > Until > > Solaris 11 is released, there's really not much point in > debating it. > > And if they don't, it will be Sad, both in terms of > useful code not > being available to a wide community to review and > amend, as in terms > of Oracle not really getting the point about open > source development. > > That's how I feel - it will just be sad if they don't. There's no > point arguing or bickering or guessing. They either will, or they > won't, do the right thing. All we can do is hope. It would be a real > shame if Oracle didn't simply open source the code. It's not as if > there are any trade secrets left - the technology is well known. > After all, Sun published the guts and they can't put the genie back in > the lamp. So the principles of ZFS can be duplicated. But it sure > would be nice if they spared everyone a lot of effort and annoyance > and just GPL'd ZFS. I think the goodwill generated would definitely > offset any minor losses. I know that, as a person who's been a > Solaris admin for almost 20 years and not generally a big fan of > Oracle, it would certainly go a long way towards starting our new, > enforced relationship off on a better foot. > > I have to say that given Oracle's track record I don't expect it. I > fully expect them to lock it up as tight and proprietary as possible > and charge everyone as much as they can, because what's important is > The Last Penny On Earth. But I'm hoping I'm wrong and being overly > pessimistic. > > Doug Linder > ----------
I, for one, would be astonished if they (Oracle) GPL'd the relevant sections of code. It seems so out-of-character that I just can't wrap my brain around it. <wink> That said, I'd also be unhappy if they GPL'd it. I'd much rather just have Oracle keep contributing to the codebase they have now, and keep the community we've got interested. Which is at least reasonably possible, if not probable. Personally, I'm happy that there are at least /some/ things that *can't* be easily ported completely across the *BSD, Solaris, HPUX, AIX, and Linux world. I want a thriving multi-flavored UNIX ecosystem where STANDARDS are important, and each product has differentiation. Allowing everything to be sucked into Linux devolves into the Tragedy of the Commons, and we end up with LESS choice, and LESS innovation. Plus, it helps keep employed generalists like me, who know a good bit about several OSes, but only so much about any one. <grin> [ObDisclaimer: I work for Oracle, but the opinions expressed herein are solely my own, and contain no Oracle proprietary knowledge] -- Erik Trimble Java System Support Mailstop: usca22-317 Phone: x67195 Santa Clara, CA Timezone: US/Pacific (GMT-0800) _______________________________________________ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
