[kaffe] Kaffe the best free implementation?

[Heiko Garrelts]

Hi

I'm both new to Java. I wanted to learn Java with a free VM and 
compiler. But which one should I choose?
When looking in the Debian package database I found these combinations:
1. Kaffe with Jikes as compiler
2. Gij (uses libgcj for classes) with jikes
3. Gij with Gjc
4. Some other VM which I think are not as complete as the ones mentioned 
above (e.g. kissme with classpath).

I think many Kaffe developers also tried some of the other implementations 
and could help me with the correct decision. I want the best compatibility to 
the original Java implementation as possible. AWT/Swing would be fine but is 
not so important. But I want JIT and compilation to native code.

After finding so many freee VMs I ask myself why the most developers don't 
work more together? E.g. if everony would use classpath for the class 
implementations everything would evolve much faster. Is there any important 
reason for this?

Heiko Garrelts