JavaDB in Java SE 6

Sun has decided to ship the Apache Derby database as part of its standard JDK when Java SE 6 is released (early access).

I can remember the days of rummaging around to find a decent embedded SQL database that was free that I could use in my spare-time projects. HSQL is still my favorite for ease of use.

So believe me when I say that in some ways this will make things easier for development. But at what point can we say that the kitchen sink has been tossed into the JDK?

I remember back when the CORBA stuff was added (1997 or 98?), and it didn't make a lot of sense to me then either. Why put in this stuff that MAYBE 2% of the development populace will find useful? It would be nice to have a 10 MB download of core libraries and then have all the others as extra.

Additionally, Java DB only ships as part of the JDK, not the JRE. (The JRE is what most end-users will have. It is not a full development release of Java. Compare it to the MFC and .Net runtimes.)