By now, everybody who has an interest in Java is aware of this:
We propose that we create a new Apache project, Harmony, that will achieve the following goals : 1) create a Compatible, independent implementation of J2SE 5 under the Apache License v2 2) create a community-developed modular runtime (VM and class library) architecture to allow independent implementations to share runtime components, and allow independent innovation in runtime components
What I haven’t seen appearing yet are speculations, informed or otherwise, regarding the motives that got project Harmony started.
With all the J2SE implementations that exist, is there a need for yet another one? I think the answer is yes.
Fact is, Apache has an incredible amount of Java projects. Being at the mercy of one (Sun) or more (IBM, BEA, …) vendors is a big risk. And now, with J2SE 5, it is finally legal to create a compatible, Open Source implementation.
Of course, reaching the goal of a complete J2SE implementation starting from a clean slate is a daunting task. I hope it’s not so big that by the time it’s finished the target has shifted too much (i.e. Java 6, Java 7, …).
Well, GCJ is already being shipped by some distros with nearly 1.4 full support , they are already add Java 5 support, it supports more achitectures than Sun’s Java (GCJ uses GCC so it supports all the architectures GCC supports) etc…
While it’s nice to see this, you’re _way_ too late. Whatever reasons you have to start it are just not going to have a big impact - GCJ has already got all the chicks, sorry