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The Java Community Process (JCP) is the community-led process for developing and revising Java technology specifications, reference implementations, and compatibility test suites. It is not a programming language, Java runtime, or software product. Work is organized as Java Specification Requests (JSRs), developed by Expert Groups, reviewed publicly, and guided through formal milestones by the Executive Committee.
What the Java Community Process does
The JCP provides a formal way for the international Java community to standardize and ratify specifications for Java technologies. The process was created in 1998. Its work covers specifications and the associated artifacts that help implement and verify them. The official JCP FAQ and procedures overview describe its purpose and operation.
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The JCP is therefore a standards process, not the Java language itself or a particular implementation of Java. Its purpose is to define agreed technical specifications and establish a path for implementation and compatibility testing.
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A Java Specification Request (JSR) is the formal proposal to create a new Java specification or revise an existing one. The term is also commonly used for the specification effort that follows the proposal. JSRs are the individual pieces of work that move through public review, development, approval, and maintenance. The JSR overview lists JSRs and provides ways to browse them.
How a JSR moves from proposal to maintenance
The JCP procedures describe four broad phases: initiation, draft releases, final release, and maintenance. The exact work varies by JSR, but the broad sequence is:
- Initiation: A community member submits a proposal for a new or revised JSR. The Executive Committee considers whether the work should proceed.
- Drafting and public review: If approved, an Expert Group develops the specification. Early Draft and Public Review stages provide opportunities for people to read the work and submit feedback. The Executive Committee votes at defined transitions.
- Final release: After feedback and a proposed final draft, the Specification Lead ensures the Reference Implementation and Technology Compatibility Kit are ready for final evaluation. Following approval, the final specification and its associated RI and TCK are published.
- Maintenance: A Maintenance Lead takes responsibility for the completed JSR. Maintenance can address clarification, interpretation, enhancement, and revision requests, which are handled through review and voting steps.
The JCP Procedures Overview lists JCP 2.11, dated December 17, 2018, as the process-document version shown on the site. That date identifies the listed procedures document; it is not the date the JCP began. The JCP procedures document and the live status of individual JSRs are separate things.
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Who writes specifications and who oversees the process
Expert Group and Specification Lead
The Expert Group does the day-to-day specification development. The Specification Lead organizes the work and leads the experts responsible for the JSR; the JCP FAQ describes this role as a representative of a Full Member.
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The Executive Committee oversees formal milestones rather than replacing the Expert Group as the technical authors. Its responsibilities include selecting JSRs to proceed, approving drafts for Public Review, granting final approval to specifications and their associated RIs and TCKs, reviewing maintenance releases, and handling specified TCK appeals. The Executive Committee information page describes committee responsibilities.
Program administration
The JCP FAQ says the Program Management Office is within Oracle and oversees the JCP and its day-to-day program administration. That administrative role is distinct from the technical specification work carried out by Expert Groups.
Why a specification has an RI and TCK
A completed JSR is accompanied by a Reference Implementation (RI) and a Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK). The RI demonstrates an implementation of the specification. The TCK is the test suite used to check whether an implementation meets the specification’s compatibility requirements. Together, they connect the written rules to both an implementation and a means of evaluating compatibility; passing a TCK is not the same thing as writing or approving the specification.
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How public participation works
Anyone with internet access can review and comment on JSR proposals and draft specifications. That open access does not mean every reviewer has a formal role, a vote, or a seat on an Expert Group.
For deeper involvement, a registered user can track JSRs, seek contributor or Expert Group candidacy, request association with a JCP Member, or pursue membership. Membership depends on signing the relevant agreement, and rights vary among Associate, Partner, and Full Member categories. Check the JCP participation information for the applicable membership terms rather than treating membership as one uniform level.
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- Read the JSR proposal and any public draft on its JSR page.
- Send comments through the feedback channel stated for that JSR.
- Follow its ballots and milestones through the JSR pages, including the JSRs by Stage listing.
- If you want a formal contributor or Expert Group role, explore association with a member or the membership route appropriate to that role.
How to check JSR status
The procedures overview describes the process; it does not tell you the current stage of every JSR. For a particular effort, use the JSR overview or stage listing, where records can be browsed by stage, technology, platform, and Executive Committee. The listings change as JSRs progress, so any stage counts are time-sensitive and should be checked directly rather than treated as durable totals.
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