Brazil signed a contract, yesterday, with the Java Community Process (JCP), with the intention of disseminating the free software in the government information system.
Around 900 organizations in the world participate in the entity, which sets the standards for the use of the Java technology.
The contract signed by the Director of the Federal Data Processing Service (Serpro), Sérgio Rosa, and JCP’s president, Onno Kluyt, makes Brazil an active member of the group, with the possibility of influencing decisions regarding Java technology specifications.
The advantage of using Java technology, according to Rosa, is that it allows development of software that is accessible to both small and large computer systems.
Java is already being used in the Foreign Trade Integrated System (Siscomex), which, according to Serpro’s director, may become the standard system for information exchange between South American countries. Until next year, foresees Rosa, Serpro may double its number of Java experts.
Serpro’s JCP membership must involve costs of approximately US$ 2 thousand per year.
Rosa says that Serpro does not currently pay royalties for using its software applications, because it has developed all of them, but pays royalties for the operating systems, databases, and programming languages it uses.
The tendency, however, he explains, is to change platforms with own technology: “We already are in advanced process towards it.”
60% of Serpro’s workstations already operate with free software. Beginning Monday, Apri 11, they will have a person in permanent contact with the Java world community.
Translation: Andréa Alves
Agência Brasil
