Java Community Process

Java EE is a standard designed for building enterprise applications with the Java programming language. It contains a number of specifications, which define functionalities required by implementations of the standard.

Specifications that constitute Java EE are developed in an open, community-based process. Both organizations and individual users can join it and take part in the development.

As a standard, Java EE may possess multiple implementations. A vendor who is willing to create a product that is Java EE-certified has to pass a technology compliance test, which guarantees that the product is in alignment with the standard.

The standard provides the contract between enterprise application developers and the vendors of standard implementations. An application developer can be sure that their application will be supported and portable, as there are a number of standard implementations; they are not dependent on one vendor. Application developers are free to migrate their applications between different standard implementations.

It is also important to note that the standard does not determine the details of server implementation. As a result, vendors have to compete to provide the most efficient, robust, and easy-to-use implementation.

To sum up, the Java EE standard provides enterprise application developers with an ability to write supported and portable applications. Furthermore, the community-based specification development process and competition between vendors help the standard to evolve and allows users to choose the best implementation for their needs.

On the flip side, the fact that Java EE is a standard implementation result in a slower evolution and decision-making process than alternative frameworks. In a world in which technology is being developed rapidly, this becomes a bigger problem. As a result, recently, an effort has been made to refactor the way in which standards and specifications are created. Java EE is currently transforming into EE4J, a standard developed under Eclipse Foundation's governance. We will return to this topic in the final Chapter 12: Future Directions.