Recently, I wrote a column that asked the question: Is this the end of Java as we know it? That question was triggered by a proposal to the Java Community Process (JCP) for an enhancement to the Java standard after (instead of before) that enhancement was embraced by members of the JCP, namely IBM and BEA. For years, the JCP has been the venue for vetting proposed changes to Java technologies. Java is comprised of many moving parts and components, including the various footprint-specific versions of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Virtually all of these individual Java specifications and any upgrades to them -- known to Java aficionados as Java Specification Requests (JSRs) -- are first hashed out and polished by the contributors to the JCP before being officially incorporated as a Java standard, or supported in Java standard-compliant offerings.
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