Also gathering steam is the formidable GNU Classpath project, which is now providing compatible coverage for 95% of the full Java 1.4.2 api set. For those who aren’t aware of GNU Classpath, it is a project to create free core class libraries for use with runtimes, compilers and tools for Java. Providing a compatible implementation of the Java core class libraries is one of the biggest hurdles any open source Java implementation would have to clear, so reaching 95% of Java 1.4.2 is major milestone for GNU Classpath. On a related note, murphee’s Rant noticed that IBM has submitted its first actual contribution of code to the Apache Harmony project. Although I have no sense of how important the specific contribution may be, it is obviously very significant that Big Blue is now officially contributing to the effort to get the free, open source Java implementation completed. They had indicated they were going to back in the summer, but now they have begun. I’m giving 2:1 odds that more code contributions from IBM will soon follow, anyone interested in betting against it?