Java Magazine, Nov/Dec 2016
Contribute to Java by Adopting a JSR How you can build your developer skills by contributing to Java standards MARTIJN VERBURG ORACLE COM JAVAMAGAZINE NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2016 61 community participation The Adopt a JSR program was designed by Oracle to encourage JUG members individuals corporations and other organizations to get involved in Java Specification Requests JSRs It lets Java developers be involved in the development of the Java platform via the standards body In this article I explain what Adopt a JSR is the goals of the program and how you can get involved What Is Adopt a JSR Adopt a JSR is focused on getting Java developers involved with emerging Java standards as early as possible Individual developers Java user groups and organizations are all eligible and welcome to join The Java standards covered by JSRs determine what goes into Java SE Java EE and Java ME For example Project Jigsaw which provides a modularization platform for Java SE is defined in JSR 376 For Java EE the Servlet 40 specification is determined in JSR 369 Why Participate in Adopt a JSR The main reason for this program is to ensure that the emerging standards for the Java ecosystem are technically sound relevant usable accessible and free from intellectual property entanglements With an estimated 10 million developers using Java this kind of attention to emerging standards is important This program enhances a Java developers technical social and strategic skills and credentials Many developers involved in Adopt a JSR have gone on to become authors speakers and leaders in various projects and organizations Regarding the work itself Java developers who adopt a JSR are often involved in activities such as Requirements gathering Specification design Reference implementation work Technology compatibility kit work If youd like to help Java continue to be the leading language and platform choice for software engineers then this is a great place to start Many potential contributors are reluctant to participate in a JSR because theyre not experts But JSRs should be seen more as special interest groups SIGs on a particular topic in which the members fulfill a wide variety of diferent needs Many of the tasks listed above require you only to have an interest in the topic and the willingness to spend some time Theyre not reserved for domain experts Get Started To get started join the community at Adopt a JSR There are links on that portal for signing up for the IRC channel mailing lists and so forth The next step is to pick an active JSR PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB ADLER
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.