arjan tijms wrote on 11/17/14 13:00:
> Hi,
>
> On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 9:30 PM, Bill Shannon <bill.shannon_at_oracle.com> wrote:
>> The Java EE Compatibility rules prohibit that. It's true that they can,
>> but they're not allowed to. Just because you *can* exceed the speed limit
>> doesn't mean it's *legal* to do so.
>
> Hmmm, it's indeed true that many products have an option to change
> some default behavior. Like the (infamous)
> org.apache.el.parser.COERCE_TO_ZERO option, which changes an
> unworkable (for many cases) situation.
>
> Portability and compatibility is one of my greatest concerns when
> dealing with Java EE products, so I absolutely understand the need for
> products to be as compatible as possible in the default configuration,
> but I'm not 100% sure if changing behavior by the customer can or
> should be forbidden.
We could argue forever about what you or I or someone else thinks *should*
happen. What I'm describing is what *is*. These are the current rules.
I didn't write them, but I can explain them.
> Technically, aren't all open source products in violation then? As I
> can just change something in the code, recompile and have altered
> behavior. One may argue if changing some .xml file and re-packaging a
> product is really that different from changing a .java file and
> recompiling.
Interpreting how these rules apply to open source products is a legal issue
beyond my expertise.
> What I find more troublesome is that some certified Java EE servers
> when downloaded are nothing but a JSP/Servlet container. You have to
> explicitly edit a server.xml file to make them say a web profile
> compatible product. Or another well known certified Java EE product
> that out of the box doesn't honor any security settings in web.xml,
> and only does this after fumbling with an admin web console.
Yes, many of these things are likely violations of the Java Compatibility
rules. If you want to report specific violations, send them to me directly.
It can be complex to interpret the compatibility rules and the specifications
to determine whether any particular case is a violation or not, and we'll
work directly with the licensee if we learn of cases that are problematic.