2. Compatibility with the Java Platform

As we believe it is important that the Java platform not be fragmented, gcj and libgcj try to conform to the relevant Java specifications. However, limited manpower and incomplete and unclear documentation work against us. So, there are caveats to using gcj.

This list of compatibility issues is by no means complete.

• gcj implements the JDK 1.1 language. It supports inner classes, though these are known to still be buggy. It does not yet support the Java 2 strictfp keyword (it recognizes the keyword but ignores it).

• libgcj is largely compatible with the JDK 1.2 libraries. However, libgcj is missing many packages, most notably java.awt. There are also individual missing classes and methods. We currently do not have a list showing differences between libgcj and the Java 2 platform.

• Sometimes the libgcj implementation of a method or class differs from the JDK implementation. This is not always a bug. Still, if it affects you, it probably makes sense to report it so that we can discuss the appropriate response.