From the Source

★ wanayoo — archive 1999 http://java.sun.com/features/2000/05/jcp2.html

JCP 2.0 Links

• Draft

• Executive Summary

• Public Discussion Forums

May 01, 2000 -- Welcome to the first edition of From the Source, a new section on java.sun.com where members of the Java^TM technology developer community -- such as yourself -- can hear directly from those of us on the front lines of Java technology development about what's happening in the Java Community Process^SM (JCP) program and with Sun's evolving technology licensing models.

This section also links to public discussion forums where you can give feedback to the Java technology community, including Sun. Feedback is always welcome, typically thoughtful, and often useful -- and acted upon. We have a long history of charting our course based on the feedback we get from our customers and partners, even though sometimes the feedback makes our ears burn!

Straight talk "From the Source"

The intent behind this section is to cut through the rhetoric and confusion around Sun's goals and actions surrounding the Java technologies. This section will help provide some clarity on issues of concern to us all, issues such as:

How will Java technology be driven to the next level in a way that's efficient and open?
What does compatibility really mean, and what's the best way to achieve and maintain it?
What is the reasoning behind Sun's different licensing models? How did these models evolve?

We hope to shed some light into the "black box" where these issues seem to reside. We also hope to help foster insight, collaboration and great ideas through the public discussion forum. You made the Java platform what it is today -- the choice across the world for dot-com computing. You also direct its future through your feedback and direct participation in the Java Community Process program.

Many of the people you'll hear from in this section have been working on Java technologies from the start. They are people of great intelligence and integrity who are well regarded in their respective areas of expertise. These folks have worked tirelessly to put the agenda of the developer community first. And to be frank, they sometimes went against the grain within Sun, and sometimes even within the developer community at large.

It's not about control -- it's about compatibility

But over the years, with their help and yours, we've managed to come up with a development process, a business model, and a core technology that work. The business and development models for the Java platform deliver high-quality technology in "Internet time." They're open, collaborative, and flexible to change with the times. In just five intense years, the Java platform has become the de facto industry standard for development and deployment on the Web, with over 2 million community members worldwide.

We have seen numerous refinements to these models and the technology over time, and there are surely more to come. But whatever these changes bring, one thing will remain consistent: Sun's commitment to compatibility for the Java platform. As we've always said, our actions aren't about control -- they're about compatibility -- and Sun is dedicated to working with the Java technology community to promote a model that ensures that additional functionality will not disrupt or break work previously done to the platform.

To this end, Sun is continuing its work with the industry to refine the Java Community Process program. As promised at the Java Business^SM conference in December, Sun has incorporated feedback from a "blue ribbon" group of major industry partners on a draft of the next version of the Java Community Process program that we are calling "JCP 2.0". The next steps are for the entire Java developer community -- small and large companies alike -- to review and comment upon the JCP 2.0 draft.

We've long recognized that innovation happens elsewhere -- no matter where you are, most of the smart people work somewhere else. So tell us, and the rest of the Java technology developer community, what you think.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Straight talk "From the Source"

It's not about control -- it's about compatibility

See Also