Overview and Frequently Asked Questions for the Developer Community Updated Feb. 23, 2010

Oracle has finalized the Sun transaction and the deal has closed.

The combination of Oracle and Sun transforms the IT industry and will provide significant benefits and opportunities for the developer communities of the combined companies. For example, the combination of the Sun Developer Network (including java.sun.com), BigAdmin, and the Oracle Technology Network will result in the largest, and most diverse, community of Developers, Database Administrators, SysAdmins, and Architects. The richness and diversity of these communities will truly be remarkable.

We know that you have many questions, and some of them we can answer now. We're also committed to providing updates regularly as more information becomes available.

Note that the FAQ below is designed around developer community continuity specifically and does not address product strategy, support, open source projects, or licensing. For updates on these questions, please see the information that is posted at oracle.com/sun.

So, without further delay:

What will happen to Sun Developer Network, java.sun.com, and BigAdmin?

For the near future, all these sites will remain in their current form. We know that these resources are important, so you can continue to access them just as you always have at the same URLs and bookmarks. At some time, we foresee an integration of these sites into a newly redesigned and re-architected Oracle Technology Network, and we welcome your feedback about this process. We will make sure that any changes are communicated well in advance so that you will continue to have access to the tools and resources that you need.

What is Oracle Technology Network?

The Oracle Technology Network is the world's largest community of Developers, DBAs, SysAdmins, and Architects using Oracle products alongside industry-standard technologies such as Java and Linux. Similar to Sun's communities, millions of members collaborate via Oracle Technology Network services (including blogs, discussion forums, groups, and wikis) every day to share real-world expertise and best practices about how to best design, build, deploy, manage, and optimize applications. In fact, it is quite similar to Sun Developer Network in its role as the "fabric" that binds the technical end-user community, as well as product developers and managers, together.

Will there be a JavaOne in 2010?

Yes, there will be a JavaOne Conference in 2010. JavaOne will be co-located with Oracle Develop during Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco from September 19-23, 2010. You may experience and register for JavaOne as a standalone conference just as before, or you can attend Oracle Develop 2010 and/or Oracle OpenWorld as well; it's your choice. Furthermore, unlike in recent years, JavaOne will focus solely on Java Technology and its associated ecosystem. You're welcome to attend Oracle Develop and Oracle OpenWorld to gain insight into specific products. As usual, all Java users and partners are invited to submit papers and to attend JavaOne.

And here's more good news: We're taking JavaOne and Oracle Develop on the road. For the first time, rapidly growing developer communities outside the U.S. will have access to the JavaOne experience. Although the currently scheduled Sun Tech Days in India and Russia will continue to occur as planned, JavaOne and Oracle Develop will occur in place of Sun Tech Days thereafter.

What about Java.net and Project Kenai?

Our plan is to focus our efforts on Java.net as the hosted community of choice for Java developers. Thus, we are in the process of migrating the Java.net back end to the Kenai technology. This means that projects currently hosted on kenai.com will be migrated to Java.net. We are still working out the technical details, but the goal is to make this migration as seamless as possible for the current kenai.com projects. (See this link for more details.)

What are Oracle's plans for NetBeans.org?

NetBeans.org will continue to be available at the usual URL—no changes. (See also: Java Developer Tools FAQ)

Will Oracle support Java and OpenSolaris User Groups, as Sun has?

Yes, Oracle will indeed enthusiastically support the Java User Groups, OpenSolaris User Groups, and other Sun-related user group communities (including the Java Champions), just as Oracle actively supports hundreds of product-oriented user groups today. We will be reaching out to these groups soon.

Will Oracle have Java Evangelists, as Sun did?

Yes. There will be technical staff members committed to Java Technology evangelism, events, and Java Developer programs globally.

What are Oracle's plans for student developer and related academic programs?

Oracle will continue to invest in the Sun Academic Initiative (SAI) and Java Education and Development Initiative (JEDI), although they may be modified somewhat, as well as in student communities generally. We will provide more details as we have them.

What are Oracle's plans for Sun's Certification Programs?

Sun certification has long been recognized in the industry for endorsing the competency, dedication, and motivation of leading IT professionals. Today, more than 650,000 certifications have been granted worldwide. Oracle plans to increase investment in Java, Sparc, Solaris, and MySQL technologies which is expected to increase the demand for professionals with proven expertise in these areas. Oracle remains fully committed to developing and promoting the expertise of these sought-after specialists. Oracle University will continue to provide comprehensive training and certification programs for these areas, and will honor all unexpired certification exam vouchers purchased through Sun. For more information, see this FAQ.

Will I automatically become an Oracle Technology Network Member?

No, to become an Oracle Technology Network member you will have to specifically opt-in. Membership is free and entitles you to free software downloads under the Oracle Technology Network Developer license, read/write access to Oracle Discussion Forums, and your choice of several monthly developer newsletters. If you currently have a Sun.com identity, please stand by for communications from us about this process.

How can I stay up to date about news for the Sun Developer community, as well as provide feedback about the integration of these communities to Oracle?

First of all, we welcome (and need!) your feedback about this process via the Oracle Technology Network Blog. Second, you can follow and participate in our Twitterstream (@oracletechnet), where all major announcements will be made. Regardless of the channel you use, we will answer your questions as quickly as possible.

Also, if you are a Java developer, consider subscribing to Oracle's Dev2Dev Newsletter (monthly), which is a great source of technical and community information pertaining to Java development. We will also communicate important admin/Solaris-related news through BigAdmin's existing newsletter.