Back from the long Labor Day weekend, Oracle bit its lip and said that - at the point of a court order - it would continue to make software for HP's high-end Itanium systems.

HP took Oracle to court after it said the Itanium chip was dead in the water and it wouldn't develop any more new software for it.

The court found that HP did indeed have a contract even if it was unconventional. It was a commitment Oracle made so HP would stop suing its former CEO Mark Hurd, who had gone to Oracle as co-president.

Oracle's only satisfaction from adventure - though it may have to pay billions for it - is the monkey wrench it managed to throw into HP's Sun-competitive Itanium sales, which may never recover.

The grudging statement it issued Tuesday reads:

"Previously, Oracle announced that it would stop developing new versions of its software on Itanium microprocessors. For example, that meant version 12c of the Oracle database due out in early 2013 would not be available on Itanium. However, a judge recently ruled that Oracle has a contract to continue porting its software to Itanium computers for as long as HP sells Itanium computers. Therefore, Oracle will continue building the latest versions of its database and other software covered by the judge's ruling to HP Itanium computers. Oracle software on HP's Itanium computers will be released on approximately the same schedule as Oracle software on IBM's Power systems."

Oracle said on August 1 that it would appeal the decision. It's unclear if it means to follow through.