谷歌收编Java之父：抢人才还是争专利

(电子工程专辑版权)Google依然是软件开发者的向往的圣地之一，Java编程语言之父James Gosling 3月28日在自己的博客上宣布加入搜索巨擘Google。

招徕人才？

根据维基百科上的生平介绍，Gosling是Java语言和其编译器及虚拟机的最初设计者。Gosling在Java方面的贡献也让他当选美国国家工程院院士。

数年以来在Sun公司，Gosling经常以Java的形象代言人出现，以台上的幽默表演而著称。比如Gosling曾在旧金山一年一度的Java One大会上用手提加农炮将Java T恤发射给与会者。

James Gosling

去年Sun被甲骨文收购后Gosling也宣布离开。Gosling去年接受采访时表示薪酬下降和失去Java未来发展决策权是导致他离开的主要原因。

随后的一年里，Gosling回绝了一系列工作邀请，他在博客里说到：“拒绝一些非常不错的机会让我犹豫了很久。”

以Gosling在业界的良好声誉以及企业编程团队的鼎力支持，他的加盟不仅有益于谷歌，且对Java程序的开放也是颇为有利的。许多微博用户抱怨甲骨文尚未真正成为Java社区的管理者或者协作成员，而“Mr. Java”—James Gosling能够更好地理解与促进社区的合作和共赢。

Gosling在Google的职责尚未明确，博客里的说法是“我不知道自己会干什么。作为一个脾气暴躁的倔老头，我猜可能什么都掺和点。”

Google选择的道路和纯正的Java并不相同，在自家的Android移动操作系统上采用了Dalvik虚拟机。

就像Sun对待Java那样，Google希望在Android上获取一定地平衡，保持代码开源但也通过定期更新掌控它的进化步伐。OEM厂商最近对Google限制Android 3.0平板系统的举措表示出强烈不满。(参看电子工程专辑报道：免费时代结束？谷歌暂停“蜂巢”开源激怒OEM厂商)

随着Android开始支持手机、平板电脑等不同类型的设备，Google必须保证代码不致分裂。此外Google也需要在向大量OEM厂商开放代码的同时保证代码的质量——这是被苹果紧紧控制的iOS所无需面对的问题。

有位分析师最近说Google推出新版Android系统的速度已经超过OEM厂商收回当前版本投资的速度。

Gosling可以帮Google将Android开源代码推向PC与服务器等Java开发者所熟悉的领域。他也为Google带来了引导大型开源项目的丰富经验。

下一页：争专利？

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争专利？

据悉，很多业界人士都认为甲骨文收购Sun公司的举动是相当不明智的，虽然成功实施了收购，但甲骨文Sun公司逐渐失去了几位领先的开放源代码管理者，如Java的开发者Gosling, XML的共同发明人Tim Bray和Simon Phipps等。自甲骨文将Sun收入囊中，公司并不是以开发新代码或者新产品为目标，而是妄图通过起诉谷歌等公司侵犯Java专利权来获取大量赔偿。

虽然Gosling之前也曾因Android对Google颇有微词，在一次访问中Gosling说：“我们要收取许可费的原因之一就是我们组织了很多人进行兼容性测试，并与各种手持设备制造商展开具体的协商，为的就是保持GPS API等内容的一致性。而在Android世界中却没人对此负责。所有这些手持设备制造商都随心所欲地为所欲为，这一切都表明Android的未来将是杂乱无章的。未来可能是百花争鸣，但也很有可能变得一团糟。从目前的情况来看，未来可能还会变得更糟。”

尽管如此，Gosling最终还是“像大多数人一样”，选择了Google。

从Gosling针对甲骨文收购Sun公司后利用Java专利起诉Google的Android操作系统侵权一事的评论可以看出，他是站在开源运动这一方的。

他在博客里是这么说到：“在Sun与甲骨文并购谈判中，他们问了很多Sun与Google的版权情况。当时我们可以看到甲骨文的律师的眼睛在发亮。”

但是，Gosling认为甲骨文的起诉举措，体现出甲骨文自我意识膨胀、追逐金钱和权力的初衷。这意味着Gosling已站到了谷歌的阵营中。

毫无疑问，Java是谷歌的技术支柱，有了Gosling的加盟，可以进一步扩展Java的功能，有机会施展他的才能。此外，如果Java开发者出现在甲骨文起诉谷歌的法庭上支持Google的话，或将使这场专利之争成为茶余饭后的谈资，Google也将赢得很大的胜算。因为在甲骨文所提出的各种专利中，Gosling的一个专利(RE38104)赫然出现其间。总之，成功挖走James Gosling，谷歌将成为最大的赢家。

点击参考原文：Java father Gosling joins Google

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Java father Gosling joins Google

Rick Merritt

In a sign that Google is still the place to be for a software developer, James Gosling, the father of the Java programming language, announced on his blog Monday (March 28) that he has joined the search giant.

In his bio on Wikipedia, Gosling is credited as the original designer of the Java language, its compiler and virtual machine. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering for his work.

For years, Gosling also was the public face of Java at Sun Microsystems, known for on-stage antics such as firing Java T-shirts out of a handheld canon into packed crowds at Sun's annual Java One conference in San Francisco.

Gosling left Sun when it was acquired by Oracle last year. A cut both in pay and the ability to make decisions about the future of Java contributed to his decision to leave, Gosling said in press interviews last year.

In his year off, Gosling turned down a number of job offers. "I had a hard time saying 'no' to a bunch of other excellent possibilities," he said in his blog, according to one report.

EE Times was not immediately able to access Gosling's blog, a sign that the site is either being deluged with visitors or Gosling may have decided to block access to the site.

Gosling does not yet have a clear assignment at Google. "I don't know what I'll be working on. I expect it'll be a bit of everything, seasoned with a large dose of grumpy curmudgeon," he said in his blog.

Google took a path that branched away from pure Java when it rolled out its Android mobile operating system using the Dalvik virtual machine.

Like Sun with Java, Google is trying to walk a middle ground with Android, making code open source but also managing its evolution with regular releases. OEMs recently expressed frustration over Google's attempts to limit the release of its Honeycomb version of Android for tablets.

Google must keep its Android code base from fragmenting as it tries to support different kinds of devices such as tablets and smartphones. It also must maintain quality of the code while enabling a broad set of OEMs to customize it for their systems—a problem not faced by archrival Apple which keeps tight control of its iOS.

One analyst recently said Google is churning out new Android releases faster than OEMs can recoup their return on investment in new devices using it.

Gosling could help Google expand its open source offerings into PCs and servers, territory familiar to the Java developer. He also brings experience herding the cats of a broadly used open source project.

In some of his comments about Oracle, Gosling's sympathies appear to align closely with the open source movement. After Oracle acquired Sun it decided to sue Google over infringement in Android of Java patents.

"During our integration meetings between Sun and Oracle, where we were being grilled about the patent situation between Sun and Google, we could see the Oracle lawyer’s eyes sparkle," said Gosling in his blog.