As I've previously reported in this blog, we planned three JSRs to improve
the JCP’s processes and to meet our members’ expectations for change.
The first - JCP.next.1, or more formally JSR
348: Towards a new version of the Java Community Process - was completed in October
2011. This focused on a small number of simple but important changes to make
our process more transparent and to enable broader participation. We're already
seeing the benefits of these changes as new and existing JSRs adopt the new
requirements.
However, because we wanted to complete this JSR quickly we deliberately postponed
a number of more complex items, including everything that would require modifying
the JSPA (the legal agreement that members sign when they join the organization)
to a follow-on JSR.
The second JSR (JSR 355: JCP
Executive Committee Merge) is in progress now and will complete later this
year. This JSR is even simpler than the first, and is focused solely on merging
the two Executive Committees into one for greater efficiency and to encourage
synergies between the Java ME and Java SE platforms.
Continuing the momentum to move Java and the JCP forward we have just filed
the third JSR (JCP.next.3) as JSR
358: A major revision of the Java Community Process. This JSR will modify
the JSPA as well as the Process Document, and will tackle a large number of
complex issues, many of them postponed from JSR 348. For these reasons we expect
to spend a considerable amount of time working on it - at least a year, and
probably more.
The current version of the JSPA was created back in 2002, although some minor
changes were introduced in 2005. Since then the organization and the environment
in which we operate have changed significantly, and it is now time to revise
our processes to ensure that they meet our current needs.
We
have a long list of topics to be considered, including the role of independent
implementations (those not derived from the Reference Implementation), licensing
and open source, ensuring that our new transparency requirements are implemented
correctly, compatibility policy and TCKs, the role of individual members, patent
policy, and IP flow.
The Expert Group for JSR 358, as with all process-change JSRs, consists of
all members of the Executive Committees. Even though the JSR has just been filed
we started discussions on the various topics several months ago (see the EC's
meeting minutes for details)
and our EC members - including the new members who joined within the last year
or two - are actively engaged. Now it's your opportunity to get involved.
As required by version 2.8 of our Process (introduced with JSR 348) we will
conduct all our business in the open. We have a public java.net project where
you can follow and participate in our work. All of our deliberations will be
copied to a public Observer mailing list, we'll track our issues on
a public Issue Tracker, and all our documents (meeting agendas and
minutes, task lists, working drafts) will be published in our Document Archive.
We're just getting started, but we do want your input. Please visit
us on java.net where you can learn how to participate.
Let's get to work...
