JSR107 (JCache) Update

Mailing List Set up

At JavaOne the members of JSR107 present agreed to conduct technical deliberations in public view. Anyone can go to https://jsr107.dev.java.net and see what we are up to. In particular discussions are taking place on the jsr107 AT jsr107.dev.java.net mailing list. Go to https://jsr107.dev.java.net/servlets/ProjectMailingListList
to search the archive or set up an RSS feed.

JSR107 Development Philosophy

I believe it is a widely held community view that there has been a problem in the JCP that some JSRs have failed because they created technology and APIs with insufficient community involvement. Based on things I have seen and read I do not think the original JSR107 draft API is well considered in the community.

Given the length of time that has elapsed since the start of JSR107, we are now in a situation where the open source and commercial caches have evolved a feature set and APIs based on organic growth, driven by demand. There are many instances where ehcache, which started out simply, got requests for feature xxx like in OSCache, or “other caches do this so why don’t you”. These caches are now around 4 years old so this process has had that long to run its course.

The second point is that caching is now very widely used. There are therefore a large group of people with expectations about how caching works in Java.

So, I think the community will be expecting JSR107 to deliver something like they already get from the various open source caches and to a lesser extent the commercial caches. These caches provide a lot of utility. Simply standardising the API and the SPI so that the community can use an implementation with a low cost of change is, I think, the most valuable part of JSR107.

I see the involvement of representatives from Ehcache, JBossCache and Tangosol as being key to delivering on this expectation.

I also think it vital to allow simple, no-overhead, read-only access to the technical debates on features so that possibility of feedback from the community to EG members is possible.

So this is the background I have to the current JSR107 deliberations. It might be useful to get an exchange of these philosophical views now rather than playing them out feature by feature.

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By Greg Luck

As Terracotta’s CTO, Greg (@gregrluck) is entrusted with understanding market and technology forces and the business drivers that impact Terracotta’s product innovation and customer success. He helps shape company and technology strategy and designs many of the features in Terracotta’s products. Greg came to Terracotta on the acquisition of the popular caching project Ehcache which he founded in 2003. Prior to joining Terracotta, Greg served as Chief Architect at Australian online travel giant Wotif.com. He also served as a lead consultant for ThoughtWorks on accounts in the United States and Australia, was CIO at Virgin Blue, Tempo Services, Stamford Hotels and Resorts and Australian Resorts and spent seven years as a Chartered Accountant in KPMG’s small business and insolvency divisions. He is a regular speaker at conferences and contributor of articles to the technical press.