The stewards of Java, the JCP (Java Community Process) PMO (Program Management Office) and Executive Committees, on Tuesday announced a new version of the JCP, JCP 2.6.
The new version features enhancements to the process that enable more developers to get involved in the creation of JSRs (Java Specification Requests) earlier in the process, said officials at JCP, based in Santa Clara, Calif.
Aaron Williams, JCP executive relations manager and specification lead for JSR 215, which is the JSR in charge of JCP 2.6, said, “The next generation of the process is more transparent and more participatory than the process has ever been.”
Williams added, “We’re really focused on making the community more transparent, and we’re asking [specification] leads to provide a transparency plan—to make it possible for the community to get more involved in the spec. The more people aware of a JSR, the more widely it is likely to be accepted.”
Williams said JCP 2.6 encourages more involvement from developers earlier in the process by opening up the first draft review of specifications to the public. Prior to JCP 2.6, the first draft reviews for specifications were open only to a small group, Williams said. Now, both the first and second review periods are open to the public. In addition, Williams said the JCP is moving the balloting process from occurring after the first review period to after the second period.