When it comes to mobile Java, disabling comment facilities is often the best thing to do. Some love the platform, others hate it – there is not much inbetween.
GCN has now reported on an act of generosity by Nokia:
In an effort to make it easier for Java developers to build applications for its Symbian-based mobile devices, Nokia is contributing the 2.1 version of its Java Runtime implementation to the open-source Symbian Foundation.
The newly open-sourced Mobile Runtime for Java Applications (JRT) is comprised of a set of Java APIs designed to enable the hosting – installing, managing, running and debugging – of Java applications. It also provides information about installed applications and the runtime itself.
Even though Matt Brenner from UnME2 will likely shoot me for the statement, this move by Nokia has absolutely nothing to do with them wanting to do the Foundation good.
Instead, we must be aware that Nokia increasingly depends on content providers – content providers, who usually tend to prefer Java to platform-specific languages (see this interview).
In the past, Nokia has taken significant steps to appease J2Me publishers – for example the initial signing requirements for Ovi Store were waived immediately when a large content house told them to GTFO or else.
Let me tell you about something else: inside the Symbian Foundation, many people are actively speculating on when they will be able to ship their first device without J2ME.
Nokia now does what many people advocate to Qt heads: they give their changes away to a third party as to make them responsible for further maintenance. The Symbian Foundation was unable to refuse the “gift” – and now has to tug J2ME along for the perceivable future.
It is too ironic that Gift means poison in German…
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