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by foamdino 5170 days ago
As far as I know the FOU was in place way before 2005 when Apache started on Harmony. Oracle did a 180 on supporting Apache then stabbing them in the back.

When Sun owned Java, Oracle are documented as supporting Apache's requests to get the FOU restrictions lifted and helped Apache slow the development of Java at the JCP level. When Oracle bought out Sun, they immediately stopped supporting Apache for both FOU and rammed through Java 7 without really getting many of JCP on board. IBM basically folded (after spending so much effort on Harmony - I suspect that IBM are kicking themselves for not buying Sun when they had the chance, I and many other people involved in Java at the time thought it was certain IBM were going to buy Sun out) and most of the other JCP members abstained or quit. Even members who voted for Java 7 added comments to the effect that they were not happy.

This is all in the public record : https://blogs.apache.org/foundation/entry/the_asf_resigns_fr...

2 comments

For more information on the vote of Java 7: http://blog.joda.org/2011/06/java-se-7-passes-in-zombie-jcp_...

And an excellent summary of how the FOU came to be (with pictures): http://blog.joda.org/2009/03/sun-apache-ip-in-pictures_9067....

Ah yes, Oracle's Java people supported Apache but after the merger they were presumably put under JavaSoft who continued the same old policies.