Torvalds blames Sun for Java's troubles

Linus Torvalds, the creator of open source software Linux, has voiced his disappointment over the development of Java.

Speaking at the Comdex Spring conference in Chicago, Torvalds said the continual bickering between Sun and Microsoft dampened his initial excitement over the multi-platform programming language.

He added that the differences of opinion between the two companies over how the language should develop caused support to fragment into two camps.

Java has lost "much of its potential - partly because of the way Sun has handled it", he claimed.

During his speech, Torvalds deflected concern about similar fragmentation in the Linux community by claiming it was the "little OS that could". He said splintering was unlikely, as the copyright for Linux required anyone who modified the source code to make it available to other developers.

The fact Linux has been ported to a variety of devices from handhelds to supercomputers also lessened the chance of fragmentation, he said. However Torvalds claimed that more work needed to be done to make Linux a "serious mom and pop contender on the desktop", and he predicted it would be two or three years before that happened.

Current work to port Linux to Merced would help the operating system achieve its goal, said Torvalds.