Java 1.6 via SoyLatte on MacOS X 10.4.11

I just downloaded, expanded and ran Java 1.6 on MacOS X 10.4.11 using the advice from this blog entry by Robert Dempsey. After simply expanding the bzip2 archive, I am able to execute the Java binary:


$ ./soylatte16-i386-1.0.2/bin/java -version
java version "1.6.0_03-p3"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_03-p3-landonf_03_feb_2008_02_12-b00)
Java HotSpot(TM) Server VM (build 1.6.0_03-p3-landonf_03_feb_2008_02_12-b00, mixed mode)


Thanks, Robert!

The Java implementation is named SoyLatte and is a port of the BSD Java for MacOS X 10.4 and 10.5. Here's a blurb about the project from the website:

SoyLatte is a functional, X11-based port of the FreeBSD Java 1.6 patchset to Mac OS X Intel machines. SoyLatte is initially focused on supporting Java 6 development; however, the long-term view far more captivating: open development of Java 7 for Mac OS X, with a release available in concert with the official Sun release, supported on all recent versions of Mac OS X.

There's even work going on to integrate with an Aqua look and feel library named Quaqua which looks pretty interesting.

Additionally, at the bottom of the page, the author (some cool dude named Landon Fuller) indicates:

I hope to contribute this work to OpenJDK as soon as is feasible.

And it appears that Landon is also going to have a SoyLatte BOF at JavaOne 2008. I'll have to check it out while I'm in SF that week.

For history sake, I did find that Landon offered the first preview release of SoyLatte back in November of 2007 via this Artima posting titled Landon Fuller Ports OpenJDK 6 to OS X as well as an interview with Landon on JavaLobby.

Thanks, Landon!

Update

FWIW, a friend let me know that SoyLatte will only run on Intel-based Macs.