Umbrella releases versus projects outside the umbrella

Eclipse MicroProfile is composed of a set of specifications, each with a specific focus. For example, the Eclipse MicroProfile Config specification encompasses everything related to configuring parameters for microservices. A version of a specification can be included as part of an umbrella release of Eclipse MicroProfile or be released outside the umbrella. As a concrete example, the latest umbrella release of Eclipse MicroProfile 2.2, which came out on February 12, 2019, included the following specifications:

• Eclipse MicroProfile Open Tracing 1.3
• Eclipse MicroProfile Open API 1.1
• Eclipse MicroProfile Rest Client 1.2
• Eclipse MicroProfile Fault Tolerance 2.0
• Eclipse MicroProfile Config 1.3
• Eclipse MicroProfile Metrics 1.1
• Eclipse MicroProfile JWT Propagation 1.1
• Eclipse MicroProfile Health Check 1.0
• CDI 2.0
• JSON-P 1.1
• JAX-RS 2.1
• JSON-B 1.0

Eclipse MicroProfile, however, also has other specifications that have been released outside the umbrella release. For example, Eclipse MicroProfile Reactive Streams Operators 1.0, which we will cover in Chapter 9, Reactive Programming and Future Developments, is a specification that was recently released outside the umbrella. So, why does MicroProfile allow specifications outside the umbrella? Well, the reason is that by releasing outside the umbrella first, it gives the community and end users an opportunity to utilize and test the new technology and, therefore, proving it in real applications before it can be considered for inclusion in the umbrella.