Feature planning is underway for Java SE 9, the next major update to the language and platform used by millions of developers around the world. An initial set of Java Enhancement Proposals targeting JDK 9, the open source Reference Implementation of the Java SE 9 platform, has been released.
The feature set that will ultimately be included in Java 9 is not simply in the hands of a team of technologists and executives at Oracle ORCL +0.41%, which holds the Java trademark and stewards the development of the platform. Formal processes are in place for proposing, approving, and executing on features, and a global community of developers supports that effort.
To understand how Java SE 9 will come to fruition, here are eight things you need to know about the Java development process.
1. Java is open. Sun Microsystems, owner of the Java platform before being acquired by Oracle, published nearly all of the JDK code under the General Public License (GPL) in 2007, and the few missing pieces have been gradually filled in with help from external contributors.
2. OpenJDK community facilitates collaboration. The OpenJDK Project provides a place for the Java community to collaborate on the primary implementation of the Java SE platform. Community members can build and hack on the code itself, contribute a patch to fix a bug, enhance an existing component, or define a new feature. The OpenJDK JDK 8 Project released the open-source Reference Implementation of Java SE 8 in March 2014, and the community’s attention is now turning to JDK 9.
3. There’s a formal process for community involvement. The Java Community Process (JCP), which celebrated its 15-year milestone this year, is an open, inclusive organization of active members and nonmember public input that guides the development and approval of Java technical specifications. Sun introduced the JCP in 1998 to create a collaborative process around Java. Anyone can participate in reviewing and providing feedback for the Java Specification Requests (JSRs), and anyone can become a JCP Member and then participate on the Expert Group of a JSR or even submit their own JSR Proposals. The JCP Executive Committee includes 25 members who represent companies such as Credit-Suisse, HP, Intel INTC -2.36%, Red Hat RHT +0.84%,SAP , and Twitter TWTR -0.65%; Java user groups (JUGs); and themselves.
4. The descriptions of Java specifications are known as JSRs. These are overseen by the JCP. There are numerous JSRs moving through the review and approval process at any given time. Java community members can stay up to date on a JSR’s progress by joining the mailing list for a particular JSR, and all JSRs are listed on the JCP website. The JSR process begins when a specification is initiated by community members and approved for development by the JCP Executive Committee. Once approved, an Expert Group is formed to develop a first draft of the specification, which is open for public review. The process continues until the specification is sent to the Executive Committee for final approval.
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