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  • the history of Java in Android (was Re: What?s Your Least Favourite Pro

    From Kragen Javier Sitaker@3:633/10 to All on Friday, August 28, 2026 20:27:04
    Subject: the history of Java in Android (was Re: What?s Your Least Favourite Programming Language?)

    Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:
    On Fri, 28 Aug 2026 16:43:56 -0300, Kragen Javier Sitaker wrote:
    Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:
    But J2SE was available in an open-source form, namely OpenJDK. So
    they adapted that instead.

    With respect, I think you may have gotten this wrong. Originally
    they used Apache Harmony (presumably they preferred its non-copyleft
    licensing) but switched to OpenJDK in 02016 in response to the
    Oracle lawsuit
    <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/android-n-switches-to-openjdk-google-tells-oracle-it-is-protected-by-the-gpl/>

    You are mixing up the language implementation with the library implementation.

    Your statement, ?So [the Android team] adapted [OpenJDK] instead [when
    they could have chosen J2ME],? is not true of *either* the language implementation (Dalvik) *or* the library implementation (initially they
    adapted Harmony, and many years later they adapted OpenJDK).

    Kragen

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, August 29, 2026 01:30:46
    Subject: Re: the history of Java in Android (was Re: What?s Your Least Favourite Programming Language?)

    On Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:27:04 -0300, Kragen Javier Sitaker wrote:

    Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:

    On Fri, 28 Aug 2026 16:43:56 -0300, Kragen Javier Sitaker wrote:

    Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:

    But J2SE was available in an open-source form, namely OpenJDK. So
    they adapted that instead.

    With respect, I think you may have gotten this wrong. Originally
    they used Apache Harmony (presumably they preferred its non-copyleft
    licensing) but switched to OpenJDK in 02016 in response to the
    Oracle lawsuit
    <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/01/android-n-switches-to-openjdk-google-tells-oracle-it-is-protected-by-the-gpl/>

    You are mixing up the language implementation with the library
    implementation.

    Your statement, ?So [the Android team] adapted [OpenJDK] instead [when
    they could have chosen J2ME],? is not true of *either* the language implementation (Dalvik) *or* the library implementation (initially they adapted Harmony, and many years later they adapted OpenJDK).

    ?Dalvik? was the original bytecode interpreter that Google came up
    with for Android. That was not a ?language implementation? for any
    particular ?language?.

    By ?language implementation? I was talking about SunJDK versus
    OpenJDK.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Kragen Javier Sitaker@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, August 29, 2026 15:24:51
    Subject: Re: the history of Java in Android (was Re: What?s Your Least Favourite Programming Language?)

    Lawrence D?Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:
    On Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:27:04 -0300, Kragen Javier Sitaker wrote:
    Your statement, ?So [the Android team] adapted [OpenJDK] instead [when
    they could have chosen J2ME],? is not true of *either* the language
    implementation (Dalvik) *or* the library implementation (initially they
    adapted Harmony, and many years later they adapted OpenJDK).

    ?Dalvik? was the original bytecode interpreter that Google came up
    with for Android. That was not a ?language implementation? for any
    particular ?language?.

    By ?language implementation? I was talking about SunJDK versus
    OpenJDK.

    We've agreed that they weren?t using the Sun JDK?s class library;
    instead they used Apache Harmony. We've agreed that they weren?t using
    the Sun JDK?s bytecode interpreter; instead they used Dalvik. I'm
    pretty sure they weren?t using the Sun JDK?s compiler from Java source
    to Java bytecode, because Dalvik couldn?t interpret the standard
    stack-oriented JVM bytecode. Was there some other part of the Sun JDK
    that they *were* using? If so, what part? What does the JDK contain,
    other than the class library, the virtual machine, and the compiler to
    that virtual machine?

    Kragen

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Saturday, August 29, 2026 21:57:09
    Subject: Re: the history of Java in Android (was Re: What?s Your Least Favourite Programming Language?)

    On Sat, 29 Aug 2026 15:24:51 -0300, Kragen Javier Sitaker wrote:

    I'm pretty sure they weren?t using the Sun JDK?s compiler from Java
    source to Java bytecode, because Dalvik couldn?t interpret the
    standard stack-oriented JVM bytecode.

    The whole point about using Sun?s JDK was precisely to get its
    compiler.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)