Java Platform Enterprise Edition (Java EE) 7 is now moving forward.
The Executive Committee of the Java Community Process (JCP) has approved JSR 342, which will create the next major version of enterprise Java. At the heart of Java EE 7 is a focus on making Java ready for the cloud.
“Red Hat voted in favor of the Java EE 7 JSR because we believe that the proposal advances the Java platform well in the areas of modularity, programming APIs, and operational readiness for cloud deployments,” Craig Muzilla, vice president of Red Hat’s Middleware Business Unit told InternetNews.com “We especially favor the progress being made to make Java EE a true cloud platform.”
Red Hat is a member of the JCP Executive committee as well as being a Java vendor with its JBoss product line. Muzilla noted that Red Hat has already implemented many of the forthcoming Java EE 7 features into its platforms and open source community projects.
“Developers have a chance to begin using many of these new capabilities within JBoss software today,” Muzilla said.
Among the new specifications inside of Java 7 are a number of new and enhanced APIs that will make it easier for developers to be more productive. Muzilla noted that CDI 1.1 (JSR 299) will be enhanced, making programming Java applications much easier. JSR 339, the Java API for Restful Web services, also increases flexibility and makes interoperability much easier. Mobile applications will benefit from Web Sockets and HTML5 support.
Cloud support in Java EE 7 comes from a number of innovations.
“Java EE is the most pervasive programming model in the market and these new capabilities will enable Java applications to run in cloud settings,” Muzilla said. “Scheduled queuing and scheduled notification will enable easier deployment and elastic scaling and multi-tenancy features will make it easier to take advantage of public and private clouds.”
While JSR 342 has now been approved the first draft of the complete Java EE 7 specification is not expected for public review until the first quarter of 2012 with a final release set for the third quarter of 2012.
One of the things that makes the Java EE 7 process a bit different from its predecessors is the fact that the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) is no longer part of the JCP Executive Committee. The ASF resigned its position within the JCP over a dispute over open source licensing.
“Red Hat is a firm believer in the community aspect of the JCP as well as the other communities that it sponsors, supports and participates in, worldwide,” Muzilla said. “We are always optimistic and hopeful that all organizations that want to contribute to JCP feel that they are welcomed and that their input is considered as the JCP advances the next generation of Java technologies.”
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.
