In Open Source Java, Geir Magnusson, the Apache Jakarta Chair and member of the JCP's J2SE/J2EE Executive Committee, gives his opinion on Sun's plan to open source Java. He predicts that Sun will not open source everything all at once, because "The code will have to be sorted through and examined," because "it's prudent to go over the code with a fine-toothed lawyer."

He muses on what license Sun will use:

Sun needs to balance two things - dealing with their darkest fears around compatibility with the need for a licensing regime in which all players can innovate and control their own IP. Clearly the GPL won't do. While I am a big fan of the Apache License and the full freedom it offers, I can live with the CDDL and other soft-copyleft licenses. At least then, people could invest in innovation, and choose how they wished to license the IP for the things they created that were truly new.

Lastly, he suggests that the most important aspect of the process will be community:

The community that Sun creates around their open source implementation of Java will be the most important aspect - more important than the license. People tend to forget that 'open source' is really a combination of a license for code and a governance model for the community. Simply put, people want to participate on a level playing field where all activity is transparent, where everyone is a peer, and everyone shares in the same benefits of the collaboration.

...This project will only reap the collaborative benefits of open source if every possible participant - be it individual, academic or commercial - has the same chance to contribute and the same opportunity to benefit as every other participant.

What is your opinion on Sun's plan to open source Java?