More cynically, what this means to me is that if I want
a closer relationship with Oracle I should announce
PostgreSQL support in my products.
I can imagine the conversation going like this:
Larry: Oooh, Linux has lots of buzz, let's use that.
Scott: Hey, Larry, I thought we were best buddies.
Larry: Yeah, but OS's are commodity '70s technology and free implementations are just about as good
asthe expensive ones - so we don't need you.
Scott: Hmm aren't databases are commodity '70s technology too?
Sun Eng: Yes, Scott; and PostgreSQL is just about as good as the expensive ones.
Scott: Hey Larry, guess what I found!!!
Larry: Scott, we miss you, please come back.
But the good news is that even if their PostgreSQL
work was in part a message to Oracle that Sun has
competitive alternatives at least for some
applications - the good news is that PostgreSQL is
indeed such a competitive alternative.