Yesterday, Oracle announced the start of JSR.next, also known as JSR 348, to upgrade the current JCP to force more openness and transparency.
The key change will be the requirement that expert groups discuss on openly readable mailing lists (and openly available issue trackers) rather than having the option of discussing items behind closed doors. Several criticisms of past JSRs (such as JSR 294 and JSR 277) have included the fact that they were done without open discussions to the general detriment of the Java platform and faith in the JCP itself. Although it is not clear whether Oracle intends to host the mailing lists and issue trackers itself, it is likely that future JSRs will be discussed in a more visible platform, hopefully leading to a better specification.
In addition, the timeline for delivering JSRs will be sped up to match the increase in the rate of progress in the IT industry. Instead of leaving Java to language, Oracle intends to step up the pace by requiring more frequent updates to JSRs as well as aggresively inactivating those which appear to be making little progress, for example JSR 294 is still dead. This is modelled around the success of JSR 330, which introduced injection annotations into the Java language in record time.
Finally, recognising that Java is one platform, not two, the JavaSE and JavaME groups will be merged to form a single committee.
The timetable for the reinvigorated JCP is as aggressive as it encourages other JSRs to be, with a vote expected by the end of May and put into place by September. Oracle promises a subsequent JSR to improve the JSPA, which has been under fire, ultimately leading to Apache's resignation from the JCP.
