Java support in GCC 3.0

Java support in GCC 3.0

[Mark Mitchell]

GCC 3.0 will use a new ABI for C++.  Because the GNU Java Compiler
(GCJ) depends intimately on the C++ ABI (for example, the gcj runtime
library is implemented largely in C++), GCJ must support the same ABI
as G++.

However, GCJ has not yet implemented the new C++ ABI, and the release
of GCC 3.0 is now in the not-too-distant feature.  Therefore, the GCC
Steering Committee has decided to remove Java support from the list of
primary release critiera for GCC 3.0.

The Steering Committee hopes that the Java team will in fact implement
the new ABI before GCC 3.0, and that GCC 3.0 will contain a working
Java compiler.  The Java team will be free to make changes on the
release branch that would ordinarily be considered too dangerous for a
release branch, if those changes further the objective of providing a
Java compiler in GCC 3.0.  However, should that effort not succeed,
GCC 3.0 will ship without Java support.

The Java team has indicated that they are interested in completing the
work in time for GCC 3.0, so there is still a good chance that GCC 3.0
will support Java.

I will check in changes to the release criteria document shortly.

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Mark Mitchell                   mark@codesourcery.com
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