JEPs proposed to target JDK 9

[mark.reinhold at oracle.com]

2014/11/5 11:36 -0800, benjamin.john.evans at gmail.com:
> Hi Mark,
> 
> I'm extremely glad to hear you say this, for the following reason:
> 
> ...
> 
> Modularity, on the other hand, as currently envisaged, is going to
> break vast numbers (if not virtually every) tool in the ecosystem, and
> require fundamental changes to a lot of tools. This is a completely
> different ball game to 8, and I feel it is very important that:
> 
> a) Sufficient testing is done, not just by end users, but by JVM
> vendors, IDE and other tool makers - and as early as possible.
> 
> b) That the implementing group within OpenJDK have close contact with
> those parts of the ecosystem and
> 
> c) The implementors are receptive to problems, and open to changing
> course and/or providing remediation to make the transition less
> painful for tool makers (& end users). This is of course easier to do
> the earlier that pain points are identified, hence a).

I couldn't agree with you more on these points.  That's why we've been
discussing these changes publicly for a couple of years now, why we're
publishing EA builds for Project Jigsaw [1], and why JEP 220 [2] ends
with the paragraph:

  It is impossible to determine the full impact of these changes
  in the abstract.  We must therefore rely upon extensive internal
  and -- especially -- external testing.  Sophisticated applications
  such as IDEs are more likely to be affected by these changes than
  are straightforward libraries and simpler applications.  If some
  of these changes prove to be insurmountable hurdles for developers,
  deployers, or end users then we will investigate ways to mitigate
  their impact.

> From the other thread with Martijn, I'm assuming that the intention is
> to achieve this via a combination of community outreach & formal
> effort from Oracle's Quality group - is that correct, or do you
> foresee other channels?

I think the main publicly-visible channels will be the OpenJDK Quality
and Adoption Groups [3][4], where my colleague Rory O'Donnell will help
drive outreach, and eventually the Adopt-a-JSR Program [5].

(Oracle will, of course, also reach out privately to customers who are
 less likely to participate in the public channels, and I expect other
 implementors will do the same.)

- Mark


[1] http://openjdk.java.net/projects/jigsaw/ea
[2] http://openjdk.java.net/jeps/220
[3] http://openjdk.java.net/groups/quality/
[4] http://openjdk.java.net/groups/adoption/
[5] https://java.net/projects/adoptajsr/pages/Home