Google hires James Gosling, the man who invented Java, despite ongoing Oracle case.

March 29, 2011

Google hires James Gosling, the man who invented Java, despite ongoing Oracle case. 4

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The man who invented the Java programming language while working at Sun Microsystems, James Gosling, was hired by Google. This could be considered a surprise since Google is in an active legal battle with Oracle, the company that bought Sun. As a result of the purchase, Oracle owns all of Sun's patents and they have accused Google for taking portions of the Java source code and using it to build Android.

In his personal blog, Gosling says, “I don't know what I'll be working on. I expect it'll be a bit of everything, seasoned with a large dose of grumpy curmudgeon.” So why does Google want Gosling? Maybe it is to work with Dalvik, the Java engine that powers Android. He will probably be very useful in getting it to be more efficient, faster, and maybe less prone to future lawsuits.

Since patent RE38,104 (“Method and apparatus for resolving data references in generated code”) was invented by Gosling, but is now property of Oracle, it is possible that they could try to stop Google from hiring Gosling. These days it does not take much for any company or individual to start a suit so I would not be surprised if Oracle files something.

[via intomobile]

Robert Nazarian Author

Robert lives in upstate New York where he was born and raised. Technology was always his passion. His first computer was a Radio Shack TRS80 Color that used a cassette tape to save programs, and his first laptop was a Toshiba T1200FB that sported a CGA greyscale screen and two 720kb floppy drives (no hardrive). From the early 90’s through late 2011, he only owned Motorola phones starting with the MircroTAC all the way through to the Droid X. He broke that streak when he bought the Galaxy Nexus. Now he's sporting a Galaxy Note 4, and absolutely loves it. He has a wonderful wife and a 6 year old son. In his free time he enjoys sports, movies, TV, working out, and trying to keep up with the rapid fast world of technology.