Sun Demands Removal Of Java API Docs

Javalobby, an independent online community of Java developers, announced Friday that it had removed a number of Java API documents from its JDocs Web site at the request of Sun Microsystems.

According to Javalobby president Rick Ross, Sun requested the removal of copyrighted Java API documents after they were posted on JDocs, an online repository for javadoc API documentation that launched last week. "Sun is adamant that the javadocs for Sun APIs must be accessible solely and exclusively from sun.com--nowhere else," Ross said in a statement on the Javalobby Web site.

"Although their rationale has not been revealed to us, Sun's internal dialogue has also apparently resulted in a conclusion that JDocs.com somehow threatens the integrity of the Java platform," he continued.

According to Ross, Sun was the first corporation Javalobby approached with the idea for JDocs, and he said the company's response was "enormously positive" at the time. Subsequently, he said, other members of Sun management had acted "surprised and offended" at the publication of the APIs on the JDocs site.

"It will be up to Sun to explain what subsequently took place," Ross stated.Sun officials declined to comment, other than to state through a spokesperson that the company remains "in negotiations" over the matter with Javalobby.

Ross said the JDocs repository currently includes 106 javadoc APIs covering popular Java tools and classes. In addition to republishing the javadoc API documentation, JDocs provides indexing, cross-linking and search tools, and it allows members to add their own notes and comments to the documentation.

"We've had hundreds of requests from people to add information, and we have even had complaints that we haven't added their APIs fast enough," Ross said. "Most of the world is asking us to add their APIs, but Sun is asking us to remove theirs."

The APIs removed at Sun's request include those for Sun's Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE), Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) and Java 2 Platform Micro Edition (J2ME). All of the Sun-copyrighted APIs remain freely available on the Sun Microsystems Java Web site.