JCP

Ozark becomes Eclipse Krazo

One of the requirements for Eclipse Projects is that the name is not associated with any trademarks or potential trademarks. When we created the project proposal for Ozark, this turned out to be the case here. The name Ozark is simply used too many places for it to be a valid Eclipse project name.

So, how did we come up with the new name? First of all, we asked for input on the Ozark developer mailing list. We also wrote a small program that generated all permutations of ‘ozark’ to see if something cool came out of that.

public static void main(String[] args) {
    new Permutations().permutations("ozark").stream()
            .forEach(System.out::println);
}

Then we started filtering, discussion and voting until we ended up with Krazo, which turns out to be Ozark spelled backward. We are really excited about the new name and hope you all will join us in spreading the word that the reference implementation of MVC 1.0 that was previously known as Ozark is now called Eclipse Krazo.

Setting sails for Jakarta EE!

The future of Cloud Native Java with Jakarta EE is here! The Jakarta EE website was launched today with lots of information, news and resources, including the new results of the 2018 Developer Survey.I even got my blog posts about the relationship between Jakarta EE, EE4J and Java EE listed in FAQ section. The website even features the new Jakarta EE logo.

I should be honest and say that it wasn’t my first choice when I voted, but when I see it in use with different colors and backgrounds, I must admit that it looks pretty good.

The initial strategic and participating members of the Jakarta EE working group are also listed on the website.

It is pretty awesome to see this list of companies participating and supporting Jakarta EE! And the list is likely to expand as more companies join. The future of Cloud Native Java is Jakarta EE, and the future looks bright. Let’s set the sails and sail towards the future (finally got the logo, I think…).

https://jakarta.ee

 

Promoting EE4J at Jfokus

During the opening keynote of Jfokus, I was invited up on the big stage to be interviewed about the future of Java EE and my role in the Java community.

The video from the Keynote will probably be available shortly, so I will not repeat everything here word-for-word (even if I could…).

The first topic was the Java Community Process Executive Committe and we talked about how the EC guides the evolution of Java™ technology in the Java Community Process.

The next topic was about the Eclipse Enterprise for Java Project Management Committee and how to get involved in participating in the development of Java EE technologies within EE4J. I will encourage everyone that is interested in following what is going on there to join the ee4j-community mailing list.

Welcome to the #javatrain

Usually, you would expect 10 to follow after 9. But in the world of Java™, things move a little faster. Or at least it will be if the proposed release model in Mark Reinhold’s blog post Moving Java Forward Faster is adopted.

The next version of Java™ will then be versioned as 18.3 and be delivered as soon as March 2018. Then we will get version 18.9 in September, and so on.

In my opinion, this is pretty cool. Having a time-based release cycle for Java™ allows for developers to get smaller features delivered faster without the need to wait for the bigger, more time consuming, features to be completed.

I am convinced this proposal will be discussed and commented a lot in the community, so be sure to follow the #javatrain hashtag on Twitter.

JavaOne Streak 2017

JavaOne is only one month away and it is time to get out of that chair and start moving! That means that JavaOneStreak is on again for the fourth time in a row. The JavaOneStreak initiative was originally started by Arun Gupta back in 2014.

Do some kind of physical activity each day during the month* before JavaOne, log it and share with the hashtag #JavaOneStreak.

You don’t even have to go to JavaOne, but tell us if you are so we can meet up and brag about our achievements.

JavaOneStreak 2014 – Ivar, Heather and Leo
JavaOneStreak 2015 – Leo, Heather and Ivar

*Of course you don’t have to limit it to a month. Try to follow Heinz’ example and run a mile every day year long.

A Comment on the Jigsaw Vote

Anyone who followed the discussions and comments about JSR 376 – Java™ Platform Module System, aka Jigsaw, the last couple of weeks, should not be very surprised by the result of the Public Review Ballot. As you can see below, 13 out of 23 EC Member voted no and 10 voted yes.

Please see the Ballot Result Page for details. Make sure you read comments in the vote log to understand the reasoning for the votes. Summarized, the two following comments seems to be trending:

  • The specification was not ready to move on as it was submitted
  • The discussions and progress during the 14 day ballot period shows that it is going in the right direction

Is this a bad think for Java™ 9?

I don’t think so. This is just an example that the process is working and that the JCP fulfills its role of ensuring the quality of Java™.

Will Java™ 9 be delayed by this?

Not necessarily. It gives the Expert Group an additional 30 days to respond to the comments from the EC before submitting for a Reconsideration Ballot. The actual release date is nothing that is controlled by the JCP.

MVC 1.0 is Back!

When Oracle announced that MVC 1.0 was withdrawn from Java EE 8, they also indicated that they were investigating a possible transfer to a community member or organization for completion as a standalone JSR. True to their word, a request for a transfer ballot of JSR 371 has now been submitted to the JCP Executive Committee.

I am happy to announce that I will be the receiving part of this transfer and thus will take over as Spec Lead for JSR 371.

So, why would I want to take over a JSR that ranked so low in the Java EE Survey?  Well, there are several reasons for that:

First of all the incredible community support and interest there is for MVC 1.0. For example, JSR 371 is the most widely adopted JSR by Java User Groups participating in the Adap-a-JSR program. No less than 8 JUGs have adopted this JSR!

Secondly, I feel that the wording of the question in the survey may have played a role. The question for MVC was “How important is MVC API for the next generation of cloud and microservices applications? (1=Not Important, 2, 3, 4, 5=Very Important)”.  Still, 505 responded Very Important and only 361 Not Important. The rest were pretty evenly distributed. See Java EE Survey Results for the complete numbers.

Third, only 1693 surveys were completed worldwide. Out of 10 million Java developers, this is an alarmingly low number taking into consideration that the survey was open for more than a month and there were massive encouragements for participation from the community, including Oracle.

Fourth, in the Java EE Guardians survey that was performed just prior to the Java EE 8 survey more than 30% of the respondents answered Very Important to the question “How important is it to add a new action-oriented MVC framework to Java EE?”.

The Way Forward

The most important thing right now is that the request for transfer is approved by the EC. The ballot closes January 30, so shortly after that the practical work may start.

Join the Java Community Process

You have probably noticed that the Java Community Process (JCP) has made becoming a member much easier. There is a new membership level called Associate Member which does not require any paperwork or approval of your employer and it can all be done online filling out a simple form.

https://jcp.org

Why should you become a member?

– It looks good on your resume
– You can join as a contributor to any JSR and help evolve the Java ecosystem
– You get a vote in the upcoming elections for the Executive Committee

Why is the last item important?

Well, I am running for an associate seat in the EC, so by joining the JCP and voting for me in the upcoming election, you make sure that your voice is heard at the very top level of the JCP. My motivation is to give as much power to the community as possible.

Let’s make the JCP Great Again!

 

Please feel free to contact me on Twitter or discuss in the comment section if you have any questions or comments.

Possible Ways forward for MVC 1.0

As mentioned in Aggressive Road Map for Java EE 8, MVC 1.0 is left out of the plans for Java EE 8.

The way I see it, and also have indications from several people I have talked with during JavaOne, the possible outcomes of this are:

1. MVC is dropped completely
2. MVC continues and is included in Java EE 8 (JSR 366)
3. MVC continues as a standalone specification outside of the Java EE 8 umbrella spec

Let’s cross our fingers that the survey result turns out positive for MVC and that option 1 is ruled out by the community.

If we’re honest, option 2 is probably not very likely to happen. Given the aggressive road map for EE 8, cuts will need to be made. And MVC certainly isn’t on the list of the preliminary proposal.

Then we are left with the third option. And I actually think this may be the best way for MVC. There are several reasons for this:

Release Cycle

MVC will not be depending on the Java EE 8 release and may release earlier and more oftenJava EE 8 is going to include some form of modularity and MVC may very well be one of these modules no matter if left out of EE 8. There are also some considerations to take if this option is explored

Portable RI

Ozark needs to be made portable across Java EE implementations. This means that we will need to get rid of the dependencies on internal Jersey APIs and base the entire implementation on APIs and SPIs that are available in Java EE 7 (and later Java EE 8 and 9)TCK

Licensing

An open TCK under for example Apache 2.0 will enable us to easier use community input for developing the TCK. If Oracle is willing to let go of the TCK, they will also be relieved of the cost of creating it. This actually also applies to Ozark. It would be great if it could be developed under e.g. Apache 2.0

So, what you should do is to fill out the survey by following the link below:

http://glassfish.org/survey

 

Aggressive Road Map for Java EE

After almost a year of silence, Oracle presented a preliminary proposed road map for Java EE. It is an aggressive one and will require dedicated hard work in the Expert Groups to make it happen.

There are some interesting new JSRs coming up regarding configuration and health check in addition to the changes going to happen in the existing ones. Worth noting is also that MVC 1.0 is left out entirely from this proposal.

On the other hand, also note that it is still just a preliminary proposal, and that we as a Community are invited to give our input through a new Java EE Community Survey.

Make sure to show your support by participating in this survey!

http://glassfish.org/survey

 

So, I am still optimistic and still believe that what I was hinting at in my previous post The Future of Java EE May Be Bright After All may actually come true!