In an interview in Las Vegas, Johnson, CEO of , said it was developers who are the drivers of the Java platform these days. Earlier in the day, he had given a keynote presentation at TheServerSide Java Symposium event and pondered the rumored acquisition.

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"My answer was that I don't think [the possible merger] means that much because it really is developers and open source that are driving the Java platform today," Johnson said.

"In terms of Java middleware, which I care about most, I don't think [the rumored deal] makes a whole lot of difference. I think it's [been] many years since IBM or Sun set the agenda," he said.

"It's really the community, open source projects and businesses based on open source that are driving things forward," said Johnson. Rumors of such an acquisition first spread earlier this week. If true, the acquisition would be "a mild positive for the Java language because it shows the depth of commitment IBM has," Johnson said.