It looks like SUN's serious about open sourcing Java, where Java means the JDK. Among the various languages that I use, I could count the number of times that I've looked at the source code for Ruby, Python, Perl, GCC, GCL, and GHC on the fingers of an absent-minded stonemason, and almost all of those times have been when I wanted to compile something bleeding edge on an obscure operating system. Diving into a highly complex codebase and making positive changes simply isn't done. The SUN JVMs are already open enough for my taste. The JVMTI is available as a plug-in point, and the source code for the Java standard libraries is available.
Will "open source Java" prevent cruft from getting into the standard libraries for Java or evict some of the current dross and detritus? Will it save us from the next EJB or Crimson? Strip the Java standard libraries down to a minimal subset of what they currently contain, don't put it back, provide a great package manager, and that's open enough for me.
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