The success of the Java Community Process^SM (JCP) program is dependent on the success of its spec leads. The information available from this page is designed to answer common questions from the Spec Leads.

Contents

PMO Aliases

E-mail aliases used for JCP business

Moving Through the Process

Details on submitting Specification drafts and Expert Group formation/changes

Guidelines for Developing TCKs

Guidance on Technology Compatibility Kits (TCKs), including examples of Appeals Processes

Sending mail to a PMO alias, rather than to individual members of the PMO, will insure that your correspondence is handled in a timely manner. If you cannot recall the appropriate alias to use, just send e-mail to jcp-pmo@sun.com.

• Expert Group Formation and Expansion
• Draft Specification Submittal
• Final Specification Submittal

Nominations for the Expert Group are accepted from the first day that the JSR is available for review from http://java.sun.com/jcp/jsr.html. The PMO forwards nominations received via the JSR web page to the Spec Lead, with an indication of whether the nominee is a Member. In order to insure that all Experts have agreed to the same terms for sharing of intellectual property, and other terms of Expert Group participation, only JCP Members can join Expert Groups. See http://java.sun.com/jcp/getstarted.html for more information on how companies and individuals become Members.

Spec Lead has the following responsibilities with respect to formation of the Expert Group:

1. Select the Experts for the Expert Group. Ideally the Expert Group should be large enough and diverse enough to insure wide adoption of the resulting Specification.
   
   
2. After the Expert Group is chosen, notify the PMO (jcp-pmo@sun.com) of the membership of the Expert Group, providing the following information for each Expert:
   • Full Name
   • e-mail address
   • Company Name (if applicable)

   The PMO will then publish the names of the Expert Group companies on the web site.




3. Notify each person who volunteered to serve on the Expert Group, of the status of their nomination. For those who are accepted, it is useful to provide them an outline for how you expect the Expert Group to conduct its business.



4. Set up communication venues for the Expert Group, such as an e-mail alias or web site.



5. If any of the supplied Expert contact information changes during the course of Specification development, notify the PMO.

The PMO will continue to forward nominations for the Expert Group received from the JSR page after the Expert Group is formed. Before accepting those nominations, the Spec Lead is expected to consult with the Expert Group. The Spec Lead is expected to provide the contact information for new Experts to the PMO (jcp-pmo@sun.com). The Spec Lead can, at any time after Expert Group is formed, ask the PMO to stop accepting new Expert nominations for their Expert Group.

Final Specification Submittal

The Final release of the specification requires a two-week vote by the Executive Committee. Executive Committee ballots begin on Tuesdays, and end on Mondays. In order to be on the ballot for a given Tuesday, the Spec Lead must submit the following to the PMO by noon Pacific time on the preceding Wednesday:

1. The final specification, in PDF or HTML format. Javadoc specifications must be provided as ZIP archives.



2. A pointer to the Reference Implementation (usually a URL or FTP site). This pointer should include whatever evaluation license is appropriate for the software, according to the policy of the Spec Lead's company.



3. A pointer to the TCK. This pointer should include an evaluation license, as well as documentation of the TCK Appeals Process.



4. A pointer to the final business terms of the RI and TCK.



5. A feedback alias that the EC can use. Prompt response to comments sent to this email alias is critical to the success of the vote.



6. A completed Final Release questionnaire. Send e-mail to the PMO when the Specification is nearing Final Release, to get a copy of the latest version.

If the EC approves the Final Specification, the Spec Lead must then see that the RI and TCK are made available, as specified in the JSPA. Once the Spec Lead has provided the web site(s) to the PMO that the public will use to gain access to the final RI and TCK, the PMO confirms the public's access. After confirmation, the PMO updates the JCP web site to reflect that the Specification is Final.

A good Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) is critical to insuring that future implementations of the Specification are compatible with the Reference Implementation and each other. The JCP PMO does not impose requirements for these TCKs, but relies on the expertise within the Expert Group to provide feedback to the Specification Lead on the quality of the TCK. The PMO does, however, provide some Guidelines for Developing TCKs, http://java.sun.com/jcp/tck/guidelines.html.

[ This page was updated: 05-Oct-00 ]