Java EE 7 has been out for a little over a year, and Java EE 8 planning has begun. With JavaOne fast approaching, I talked with Oracle Java Evangelist David Delabassee to find out what’s going on with Java EE and what’s happening at the JavaOne Server-Side Java track.What can attendees look forward to at the Server-Side Java track?
There are two big topics: Java EE 7 in real-life deployments and Java EE 8 platform plans.
What’s happening with Java EE 8?
At the beginning of 2014, we conducted a three-part survey to ask the community what we should focus on for Java EE 8. The community selected some key features and helped us set some priorities.
At the end of the day, the JCP [Java Community Process] and the Expert Groups decide what should be part of Java EE 8. But the survey gave us a strong basis to start with, and we have recently started a few JSRs for Java EE 8.
Is there an overall theme that you are seeing for Java EE 8?
I see several themes, not just one. For example, there’s an ongoing focus on HTML5. If we look back, key HTML5 technologies such as JSON-P and WebSocket were introduced in Java EE 7, but that was just the beginning.
For Java EE 8, the plan is to improve the JSON capabilities by improving JSON-P but also by introducing a new specification, JSON Binding, which will allow you to convert—in a standard way—JSON objects to Java objects and vice versa.
Another important aspect is HTTP/2, which will hopefully be finalized over the course of 2015. The next version of the Servlet API, Servlet 4.0, is expected to add support for HTTP/2. JAX-RS is also expected to evolve. There will also be an effort to standardize on an action-based MVC [model-view-controller] framework, directly in the platform. So it’s clear that HTML5 is an overall and important theme for Java EE 8.
Another theme is simplifying how we develop Java EE applications. With each revision of the Java EE platform, there has been an effort to improve and simplify how we develop Java EE applications and Java EE 8 is no exception. CDI [Contexts and Dependency Injection] is one of the key enablers of this “simplification,” and the CDI 2.0 Expert Group has ambitious plans.
Something else that was quite strong in the community survey was security. There are many places in the platform where we could improve and/or simplify the security models of Java EE.
And I haven’t talked about JMS [Java Message Service] 2.1, JSF [JavaServer Faces] 2.3, or JCache. So, as you can see, there are many plans for Java EE 8!
What are some of the sessions or keynotes that people interested in Java EE should not miss?
I would recommend the following sessions and BoFs [Birds-of-a-Feather sessions]:
Java EE 8 [CON3015]
Meet the Java EE Specification Leads [BOF3031]
Adopt-a-JSR for Java EE 7 and Java EE 8 [CON6289]
The Path to CDI 2.0 [CON4294]
HTTP 2.0 Comes to Java: What Servlet 4.0 Means to You [CON5989]
Tell us about your JavaOne sessions.
One of the sessions I am presenting is Pushing Java EE Outside the Enterprise Space: Home Automation and the Internet of Things [CON5461] .
Java EE has, by nature, the ability to easily integrate with various disparate systems (for example, database via JDBC, external applications via REST, MOM via JMS, and so on). In my session, I will show that this can easily be applied to other domains such as IoT [Internet of Things]. As an example, I will show how Java EE can be used as the hub of a connected and automated home.
I will also participate in various GlassFish-related activities such as the GlassFish Community BoF and the Sunday GlassFish Community Event.
Don't miss the Server-Side Java track. Register for JavaOne.