The JAXB and JAX-RPC projects at Java.Net develop the Reference Implementations for these specifications. The source code for these projects has, until now, only been available under JRL, the Java Research License. JRL is intended for research and internal prototyping and does not allow for modifications intended for deployments. This is a problem for those groups that want to do their own support, want to apply fixes without waiting for the changes at Java.Net, want to take the implementation into different directions, or just want a security blanket. It tooks us longer than I wished but we finally fixed this deficiency through an additional, brand-new, license, JDL, the Java Distribution License, and by providing new access to the associated TCKs.

The JDL allows modifications intended for deployment and commercial use. JDL is a much simpler license than some of its predecesors but it preserves the key JCP compatibility requirement centered on Specifications and Technology Compatibility Kits (TCKs). The version of the JDL that we are using in JAXB and in JAX-RPC includes the right to access the TCKs for these technologies. These TCKs are now also at Java.Net and can be used, free of cost, on the Reference Implementations and on artifacts derived from them to help test their compatibility.

The JAXB and JAX-RPC production-quality implementations are already used in products like the J2EE SDK and the different editions of Sun's Application Server, in the JWSDP, and in stable and weekly individual builds. The new JDL license and the availability of the TCKs will expand the applicability of these Java.Net implementations to those groups that feel they need to do their own - compatible! - modifications.