Java EE in the Cloud and the Future of the JCP

In its ongoing effort to make its workings as transparent as possible, the Executive Committee (EC) of the Java Community Process (JCP) publishes the minutes of its meetings. The Aug. 9 minutes are online now, and though these kinds of documents tend to provide reliably dry reading, this one proved to be a real page turner for anyone interested in the future of Java EE. (Or would have been if it were, you know, printed on paper.)

Posted by John K. Waters on August 24, 20160 comments

Q&A: Martijn Verburg on the New MicroProfile.io Project

In an earlier post I wrote about a new independent effort to support Enterprise Java, the MicroProfile.io project, which aims to create a baseline platform definition that optimizes Java EE for microservices architecture. I connected this week with Martijn Verburg, co-leader of the London Java Users Group (LJC), one of the initiative's founding organizations, to get some additional details on the project. Verburg is also the CEO of jClarity and a very knowledgeable Java maven.

Posted by John K. Waters on August 12, 20160 comments

MicroProfile Project Adds to Java EE Pressure on Oracle

Oracle may have been neglecting Enterprise Java over the past few years, but it's sure paying attention now. The Java EE Guardians threw a spotlight on what they saw as a lack of core investments in the technology when the volunteer advocacy group went public in March, and they cranked up the intensity when they posted a petition on the change.org Web site aimed at Oracle executives. In July, Oracle seemed to be responding to the Guardians' charges in a statement about its commitment to Java EE 8, and a growing number of Oracle execs are actually talking to the press.

Posted by John K. Waters on August 10, 20160 comments

Android Devs Cry for Java Replacement

Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) forum has attracted some brave souls since the "I Am A" (IAmA) subreddit was established in 2009. Everyone from Snoop Dog to Donald Trump (set to host an AMA on July 27) has signed up for this unique, almost-anything-goes public Q&A. Last week Google's Android engineering team took the AMA plunge for the first time, just a few days after the release of the fifth and final developer preview of Android Nougat (v7.0).

Posted by John K. Waters on July 26, 20160 comments

Report: 1 in 16 Java Components Have Security Defects

Sonatype has just released its second annual report on managing open source components. The "2016 State of the Software Supply Chain" report is available now, and well worth reading.

Among the things I like about this report is that it's based on the analysis of 31 billion download requests of open source software components from the Central Repository, which Sonatype manages, and that it's the result of an analysis of the patterns and practices of more than 25,000 developers and 3,000 organizations.

The company started out as a core contributor to the Apache Maven project, which is now the largest public repository of open source Java components. That 31 billion figure represents an increase of 82 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the company. Sonatype also introduced repository managers into the software supply chain with its Nexus products.

Easily the most disturbing revelation in this report is that defective components in the software supply chain are routinely making their way into applications, which is costing enterprises millions of dollars. In fact, 1 in 16 downloads from the repository had a known security defect, the report's authors found, and 6.8 percent of components in use among the 25,000 applications analyzed had a known security defect. More

Posted by John K. Waters on July 13, 20160 comments

Oracle Says It's 'Committed' to Java EE 8

Oracle has finally responded to my -- and I'm sure many others' -- requests for comment on the future of Java EE, on which the formation of the Java EE Guardians threw a spotlight a few months ago. A member of the Oracle PR team sent me an e-mail in which Mike Moeller, Oracle's vice president of marketing communications and global public relations, offered the following:

Posted by John K. Waters on July 8, 20160 comments

Java EE Guardians Launch Web Site, Petition Oracle

The Java EE Guardians launched their public Web site last week and simultaneously posted a petition on the change.org Web site aimed at Oracle executives.

Posted by John K. Waters on June 22, 20160 comments

IBM Moves Swift to the Enterprise

Apple announced the first Developer Preview of Swift 3.0 at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco (WWDC) this week, marking the next phase in the rapid evolution of this increasingly popular open-source programming language. The growth of the Swift ecosystem among third-party developers is something of a phenomenon, and IBM appears to be leading that burgeoning pack.

Posted by John K. Waters on June 15, 20160 comments

Open Source Wins: Now What?

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is inviting open source developers to write and contribute code to The Machine project, an effort to juice up its ambitious plan to reinvent computing. During my reporting on that news I had the opportunity to talk with a real veteran of the Open Source Wars. (Not officially a thing, I know, but it should be.)

Posted by John K. Waters on June 13, 20160 comments