OpenJDK gets pencil lines not formal governance

OpenJDK is set to benefit from Sun's lesson with OpenSolaris that just because a project's governance is "dreamworthy", it may not suit developers.

When Sun first started OpenSolaris, it developed a detailed governance model for the open source project, but faced friction because the model didn't reflect how people wanted to work, according to Simon Phipps chief open source officer, Sun Microsystems, and chair of the OpenSolaris board.

"We've had a lot of tension in the community as we've faced the gap between what people actually want to do and what the governance says," he said.

The OpenSolaris governance is in the process of being changed, according to Phipps. "We're trying to reform that governance so it's much more a pencil line drawn around existing practice than a visionary, dreamworthy governance."

OpenJDK is doing fine now without a formal Java governance model, Phipps said, but once it stabilises, a similar pencil line to OpenSolaris' will be drawn.