[aarch64-port-dev ] Java feature tracking in the aarch64 port

[White, Derek]

Hi All,

I've been concerned about the aarch64 port being blind-sided by new features going into the JDK that will need porting, tuning, or testing. Especially as major features are being incubated as side projects and we're dealing with 6 month release cycles, major features may be dropped into a JDK release with little advance notice.

I propose that the aarch64 community coordinate more closely to make sure that there aren't major gaps in named features of a JDK release. The first step is tracking potential new features as we learn about them, and the second is to let each other know what JEPs and projects are of interest to each group (for investigating as well as implementing). Of course declaring an interest in an area doesn't prevent others from being interested as well.

I've created a google doc listing the JEPs that are either targeted for a future release (whether or not it needs aarch64 work), or JEPs that might need aarch64 work (past or future). I also listed OpenJDK Projects (2nd tab) that are likely to generate aarch64 work that should be monitored.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JT3lFsiju60JSU43DWN8NjuCjjNVhkp7TltajdJCOr8/edit?usp=sharing

I don't want to step on any toes, so if someone is already doing this, or would like to, please let us know!

One thing to keep in mind when investigating a JEP is that although the implementation may not have any CPU-specific code, the new tests for the feature may only run on a specific CPUs. So it's possible that the feature runs fine on aarch64 but is not being tested until we update the test tags.

Also, we might want to go beyond just stealth monitoring projects via mailing lists and actually develop a relationship with a project so they know who to contact about aarch64 issues.

Thanks for your thoughts on this,


  *   Derek