Java Data Objects Vote Draws Community Ire (
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Nearly 1,000 developers cry out against the Java Community Process' vote against the Java Data Objects 2.0 spec.A recent vote regarding the data persistence model for Java is showing more fraying in the Java community fabric.
The executive committee (EC) of the Java Community Process last month voted against the Java Data Objects 2.0 specification, also known as Java Specification Request 243 (JSR-243), in a public review ballot. That vote spawned a rash of responses on Java-related sites, including a petition to have the vote reconsidered.
The JDOCentral.com Web site has an online petition decrying the EC vote and calling for developers to join their campaign. So far nearly 1,000 have.
The vote came down to 10 against the JDO 2.0 specification, five for it and one abstention. Companies such as Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM, Intel Corp., Iona Technologies plc., JBoss Inc., Oracle Corp., SAP AG and BEA Systems Inc. voted against the specification, while the Apache Software Foundation, Apple Computer Inc., Borland Software Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. voted for the specification. Google Inc. abstained.
Some observers say the issue is rife with politics.
However, Sun last fall sent an open letter to the Java community calling for a new, single data persistence model for Java that would combine the core focus of two key specifications and give the Java community a single target to work toward.
In the letter, Linda DeMichiel and Craig Russell, chairs of the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) 3.0 (JSR-220) and JDO 2.0 specifications, respectively, said: "For years, the Enterprise JavaBeans and Java Data Objects specifications have evolved independently as they addressed different sets of requirements. The core of both specifications, however, includes persistence technology. Even to this day, the data persistence models in EJB and JDO differ significantly. This divergence has caused confusion and debates among Java developers, and is not in the best interest of the Java community.
"Consequently, requests to put an end to this unwanted divide have poured in from members of the Java community. In response to these requests, Sun Microsystems is leading a community effort to create a single POJO (Plain Old Java Object) persistence model for the Java community. This effort will strengthen community solidarity."
For more about Suns proposal for a single persistence model for Java, click here.
However, the JDOCentral petition says: "If JDO 2.0, an extension of the existing JDO 1.0 standard, is not approved, it will cause significant damage to developers and vendors that rely on JDO, it will create irreparable damage to the reputation of the Java Community Process, and it will hurt the Java developer community at large."
Moreover, "Not accepting JDO 2.0 and referring developers to a future EJB standard, which most likely will not be available for some time, leaves a significant void in the market for a robust Java persistence standard, causing it to be filled by proprietary products and solutions," the petition said.
The petition also points out that JDO 1.0 is a successful standard, the JCP passed the original JSR-243, vendors and developers have already adopted many of the useful JDO 2.0 extensions, and JDO is not positioned against any EJB specification.
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