"Sun certainly has the option and right to release Java under any open source license it sees fit," Jagielski continued, "but the ASF obviously sees the need for an implementation that has fewer license restrictions, hence the Harmony project (which is no longer in )."

"It'll be very good that the Java trap won't exist anymore. It'll be a thing of the past," said Richard Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation. The so-called Java trap was a situation in which distribution of free software containing Java was inhibited by Java's previous licensing terms.

The possibility of multiple distributions of Java resulting from the open source endeavor is "highly likely," said Rich Green, Sun vice president of software. Variants could emerge for embedded systems or new markets, he said. But the GPL promotes compatibility, he added.

"The point is that this enables Java to permeate into more places on Earth than Sun alone or any of its immediate partners could pursue," Green said.

The Java Community Process for official updates to Java technology remains in place. For example, release of Java Standard Edition 6, based on Java Specification Request 270, remains on track for a release in December.