Java evangelist leaves Oracle to save Java

Java evangelist Reza Rahman has left Oracle, to help save Java.

Rahman writes, on an Oracle blog, that he is “... certain that this is the way I personally can best help continue to advance the Java and Java EE communities.”

On his personal blog he's more candid, saying he joined Oracle in part because he'd have the chance to work with Cameron Purdy, once senior veep of development at Big Red.

But Rahman says “Cameron was made to leave Oracle” and that “The surroundings around Cameron's departure saw my skepticism of Oracle grow exponentially.”

So he's out because he now feels skepticism is justified “not merely around Java standard APIs in the enterprise” but also “Java on the desktop, browser, client, mobile, embedded and yes, even the core language runtime (this last one being the one most people get distracted focusing far too much on).”

Rahman doesn't specify just what he thinks is wrong with Oracle's stewardship of Java, but his blog gets more strident, as follows:

“Indeed the skepticism extends to Sun's entire promising open, collaborative technology portfolio largely centered around the JCP. Whatever your actual or perceived usage and dependency on this portfolio, you shouldn't think for a moment that this doesn't concern you (the sheer number of near-sighted, unbelievably apathetic people in our industry never ceases to amaze and confound me). This is the portfolio that has helped make us all successful for the past two decades. You can be rest assured that if this portfolio does not remain robust we probably won't be celebrating Java's thirty year anniversary like we celebrated it's twenty year anniversary a few months ago.”

Rahman goes on to describe a state of affairs inside Oracle that sees “corporate drones” holding Java back.

“Many people seem to have an impression of Oracle as a company full of corporate drones,” he writes. “This is far from the truth. I wasn't, Cameron wasn't and we are very far from being alone. This entry would not be complete without a respectful salute to these courageous folks. They will need our continued total support no matter what and they do what few others would dare or care to (now including myself). I wish the corporate drones and their masters lots of luck - they are going to need it more than ever.”

Rahman says his “... growing skepticism is of course independently shared by the ever vigilant Java EE community outside Oracle I have had the honor to serve.” That community has “started to coalesce around these concerns quietly for months now.”

“These are courageous folks I have the greatest regard for. The time is well past due I rejoined these folks in the community to help safeguard the well being of millions of Java developers worldwide and perhaps the well being of global IT itself.” ®