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Google Abandons Oracle’s Java APIs for Open Source in Future Android Releases

Google’s next android version, which is yet to be named officially, will replace its implementation of Java APIs with the open source version of Oracle’s Java Development Kit (JDK) called OpenJDK, the search giant confirmed to Venture Beat in a statement. “By moving to OpenJDK, Google is still using the APIs that Oracle threw a fit over – it’s just now, amusingly, using Oracle’s GNU GPL licensed code”, reports the Register.

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Android provides certain Java API libraries to support the development of apps in the Java programming language, broken into two parts: The APIs to the libraries and the implementing code developed by Google that make said libraries work.


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“As an open-source platform, Android is built upon the collaboration of the open-source community”, Google told VentureBeat.


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Oracle filed a copyright lawsuit against Google in 2010 for the use of 37 Java APIs. Unlikely, but the end result is what matters: future versions of Android won’t be dependent on Oracle’s proprietary JDK version. It could help bring Java back into vogue with some developers who considered the closed nature of Java problematic. Google purchased Android in 2005 and continued developing Android OS. The OpenJDK is much more familiar to the wider Java community than Google’s Harmony-based libraries. A federal district court originally ruled in favor of Google, but past year a U.S. Court of Appeals reversed, and ruled in favor of Oracle.

Google was embroiled in a legal dispute with Oracle because the latter says that Android is not allowed to use the proprietary Java bits. Further, compared to most developers, Google maintains unlimited resources to throw at product development.

Google also feels that developers will welcome the change because it simplifies the code on which they build apps and puts everyone on a common codebase.

Google said that the reason was the release of Java 8 previous year and the introduction of new language features such as Iambdas.

Android runs apps written in Java.

This is great news for all Java developers everywhere! Google did negotiate with Sun about possible partnership and licensing deals for Java, but no agreement was reached.

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Both the sides have interesting arguments.

Android N to ditch Oracle's proprietary Java APIs for OpenJDK