Why MS-extensions?

[Tim Wilkinson]

All,

Let me comment briefly on this - sorry I'm rushing to finish up for
JavaOne tomorrow but you can come and talk to me there if you want.

Essentially we wanted to provide a true Open Source Java virtual machine
and class libraries which would support the two versions of Java we
currently have to deal with - one is Sun's Java, the other, whether you
like it or not, is Microsoft's Java.  By providing a solution as Open
Source we both unify the two waring Java parties and enable developers
to choose their development tools, the extensions they want to use, and
allow deployment on any platform supported by Kaffe.  You can now write
J++ code on Visual Studio and deploy on Redhat Linux.

We believe this is a good thing because we're giving people choice.

If anyone has heard me speak about Java in the past then you'll know
that I don't believe Sun is somehow "good" and Microsoft is somehow
"evil".  They both just want to control what Java is - and I want Java
to be controlled by the Open Source movement - standards set by the
people who actually use them.

If the Microsoft extensions prove useless people won't use them.  If
people find them useful then they can use them *without* tying
themselves to Microsoft and Windows.

Let the people who use the code decide.

Regards
Tim
--
  Tim Wilkinson                         Tel:     +1 510 704 1660
  Transvirtual Technologies, Inc.,      Fax:     +1 510 704 1893
  Berkeley, CA, USA.                    Email:   tim at transvirtual.com