A while back I came across a cool open source port of Java 6 for OSX by the name of SoyLatte. Landon Fuller had taken the FreeBSD Java 6 Patchset and ported it over to the mac. For those unaware, OSX’s kernel is based on the mach microkernel with a FreeBSD subsystem. This allowed the FreeBSD patchset to be easily ported over, as a lot of the work was already done. As a Java developer, this was a great find.
Recently Apple has released Java 6 update 1 for the Leopard as a developer preview. This is a nice and certainly welcome update. Landon has merged the SoyLatte project with the FreeBSD Java project and both seem to be heading toward joining the OpenJDK. He has stated that he is looking to have an on-time release of Java 7 on the Mac.
I think Apple has done a great job with their Java implementation, as their Swing Look & Feel gives a more native gui than the Look & Feel on any other platform. At the same time, I welcome the SoyLatte port and I think it will play a very important role in Java development on the Mac.
December 29, 2007 at 7:51 pm
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