New name for a Red Hat Java project but still open source? Is Red Hat excited? Well, it’s “even #?!@faster,” the new logo says.
So the answers are: Yes, yes and yes!
Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) has changed the name of an open source project called JBoss Application Server to WildFly, but the Java-oriented project will remain free and open, the Hatters declare.
And, as already noted as stressed in that logo, faster!
“JBoss AS was renamed to reduce confusion,” Red Hat said in a Q&A for the newly named WildFly. “The term JBoss commonly referred to: the JBoss Application Server project, the JBoss Community or the Red Hat JBoss product line.”
JBoss is a middleware software product line owned by Red Hat, which is best known for its work in Linux. The old JBoss AS project dates back to 1999.
“There is no foreseeable change in how the project will be governed,” Red Hat added – an important point to the open source community.
As for the differences between it and JBoss commercial offerings, Red Hat notes there are many:
“[Wildfly] is focused on rapid innovation where new technologies can quickly be introduced. It is best suited for early to advanced prototyping and development. JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 6 is the commercial offering. JBoss EAP provides an integrated, tested and certified Java EE [enterprise edition] platform. JBoss EAP includes patches, updates, SLA-based support, multiyear maintenance policies and Red Hat Open Source Assurance.”
The new name was picked by the JBoss AS community in voting last November, Red Hat adds.
WildFly will work with its “community” for “more flexible and modern approaches to application development, open hybrid cloud enablement, and Java Enterprise Edition 7,” Red Hat declared in the announcement.
The first WildFly project, titled WildFire 8, is hopefully en route to receiving “rapid certification” for Java EE7, the Hatters added.
The initial WildFly release is expected to be available in May and will remain a “free, community downloadable project,” Red Hat said.
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