Android made Java-free thanks to 'XobotOS' project, but what are the legal implications?

Software firm Xamarin has ported the Java code inside Android (over a million lines of it) to C#, creating an entirely freestanding operating system that it calls "XobotOS." C# — which began as a Microsoft project over a decade ago and now dominates non-native programming throughout much of the Windows ecosystem — is very close both in spirit and language structure to Java, which makes porting between the two a somewhat reasonable undertaking. To get it done quickly and make sure that Xamarin could keep up with Android's evolution, it automated the port using a modified version of the Java-to-C# tool Sharpen. "We knew we wanted to be able to stay up to date with new releases of Android," Xam... »read more

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