With licensing issues surrounding Java being debated countless times, and the Free Runtimes gaining maturity and eventual acceptance by the larger FOSS community, an effort needs to be made to resolve the naming of Java itself. Java(TM) is a trademark held by Sun Microsystems, and they hold a tight control over the use of that trademark(they have every right to do so), so the name Java cannot be used for many projects. Debian has had similar problems with [Mozilla|![[WWW]](/image.pl?url=https%3a%2f%2fweb.archive.org%2fweb%2f20060220174727im_%2fhttp%3a%2f%2fwiki.debian.org%2fhtdocs%2frightsidebar%2fimg%2fmoin-www.png&f=jpg&w=240)
http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2004/12/msg00328.html] and [PHP| http://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2005/02/msg00222.html] naming, and they are still seeking a solution to these naming problems. I think we as Java Developers supporting free runtimes should also be proactive in resolving the situation.
1. I propose that we seek a new name for Java(TM). This way we can create a unique identity for ourselves. Like a "Linux" developer/user/maintainer as opposed to a UNIX(R) developer, it creates a community of like-minded (Java FOSS) people. A lot of the existing Java communities(like those on Javalobby.org and Theserverside.com) tend to prefer that Java remain proprietary, and I think this is causing many FOSS people to avoid using Java. A new name for Java, like "cojapas"(coined by Dalibor Topic) for example, can create a new sense of belonging and get more people to start using Free Runtimes as an alternative to the proprietary Java(TM) Platform from Sun. Like a Perl developer or Python developer, I want to be able to proudly say I am a "cojapas" developer, instead of a Java(TM) Developer. If enough people support a new name, perhaps we can get the name trademarked and registered to [Software in the Public Interest, Inc.| http://www.spi-inc.org], and maintained like the Debian trademark. -- David Fu.
The Apache Harmony project seems to be getting a lot of momentum, if they succeed, Harmony will probably be come the standard bearer. So the ball is in their court.
* Should the name start with the letter "J"? If the letter "J" is retained, it will remind people of the Java heritage.
* cojapas. - coined by Dalibor Topic, sounds Spanish with no particular meaning.
* FreeJ - sounds like AspectJ, but it is current in use by the [FreeJ| http://freej.dyne.org] realtime processing software.
* Kaffe - has some credibility, but some may feel it unfairly gives an advantage to [kaffe.org| http://www.kaffe.org].
* Kaffeine - would Kaffeine be fair enough?
* Jono - sounds like mono.
* The "J" Programming Language - the name "J" by itself should not be trademarkable by any entity.
* zenith : to promote us as a middle ground between "sun" and "eclipse"
* maybe we can take something from the "harmony" project : something about music and balance ... diva
* guarana, mocha or Kaffa : keep on the coffe trend : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafeine and http://www.ico.org/coffee_story.asp
* camel : in the tradition of universities and free software an animal. It would keep the exotic from "java" and coffee. I also know of no other use of this animal in free softwares. -> I think the camel reminds people of [perl| http://www.perl.org]. --David Fu
* decaff : take the addiction(vendor-lock in) out of Java.
*JaFa : It starts with J, has an 'F' for Freedom, rhymes almost indistinguishably with Java while avoiding the legalese, and someone not familiar with the name could almost guess what programming language it is. -> I think a name which is more distinct would be better? Since the Free Runtimes are gaining strength, we do not need to stick so close to "Java" anymore. --David Fu
* Debian Questions Trademark Policy : http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/23/0610216&tid=90&tid=8&tid=106
* Debian Project Leader, Branden Robinson's entry on managing Trademarks in Debian : http://necrotic.deadbeast.net/~branden/blog/exuberance/Debian/trademark.html
last edited 2005-11-27 01:33:20 byDavidFu
