Oracle did a great job getting Java SE 9 released earlier this year, but modularity and various smaller updates may not be enough to get users to quickly migrate to JDK 9.
When it comes to bringing sanity to the crazy world of enterprise Java development, we always look to our friends at ZeroTurnaround. And one of those ZeroTurnaround friends who has his finger on the pulse of what's going on with Java EE 8 and Java SE 9 is its director of developer relations, Simon Maple. So, with all of the announcements coming from Oracle, from the brand new Java SE 9 six-month release cadence to the pushing of Java EE to the Eclipse Foundation, we wanted to find out Simon Maple's take on things.
Ongoing Java SE 9 adoption
"There are some interesting things going on with Java SE [Java Platform, Standard Edition] 9," Maple said. "It was delayed by an extra year, so it's been three years in the making. But one of the things which Java SE 9 does deliver upon is the module system."
The Java module system will certainly go a long way in freeing developers from the classpath hazards common to applications built prior to Java SE 9, but how quickly the industry will start seeing module-based software being shipped is something Maple isn't too aggressive on. "People who really need modularity are already using OSGi [Open Service Gateway Initiative] or something similar," Maple said, suggesting that software developers aren't necessarily champing at the bit when it comes to leveraging Project Jigsaw. "I think modularity benefits a number of people, but not everyone in a massive way."
New Java SE 9 release cycle
I think modularity benefits a number of people, but not everyone in a massive way.
Simon MapleZeroTurnaround
So, while Maple doesn't believe the benefits and features of Java SE 9 are causing a mad rush of migrations, he does see many long-term benefits to Oracle's recently proposed six-month release cadence. "Since Java SE 9 is now being pushed out and we have a module system, we can develop much faster, and we can provide smaller features quicker," Maple said, tying in the relationship between the newly modularized Java Development Kit and the fact that this modularization will make adding small feature sets easier. "I think it's really, really good for Java."
To hear more of Simon Maple's insights into many of the Java SE 9 and Java Platform, Enterprise Edition announcements that have been happening over the past few months, along with information about some future product releases from ZeroTurnaround, listen to the full interview between Maple and TheServerSide's Cameron McKenzie.
