The GNU Project has released version 0.97 of GNU Classpath, an incomplete free implementation of the core Java class libraries.
this release is primarily a maintenance release. The recent release of the majority of Sun's class library as Free Software on May the 8th, 2007, under the auspices of the OpenJDK project ( http://openjdk.java.net ) has changed the position of GNU Classpath within the community and recent efforts have focused on bringing together Classpath and OpenJDK code under the umbrella of IcedTea ( http://icedtea.classpath.org ) and BrandWeg ( http://icedtea.classpath.org/wiki/BrandWeg ). We hope to extend support and work together with the OpenJDK community over time.
The main feature of this release is major changes to Classpath's build system. Notably, configure now tries to find ecj, javac and gcj (in that order), with the --with-ecj and --with-javac options being removed. To override this, set JAVAC when calling configure. This brings the use of the Java compiler in line with that of the C and C++ compilers. Building also now requires a version of javah so that headers may be generated.
There have also been many bugfixes over the past four months. Those relevant to 0.97 can be found at http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/buglist.cgi?product=classpath&target_milestone=0.97
GNU Classpath is published under the GPL with library exception.