With the approval of Java SE 7 and Java SE 8 JSRs last month, attention is now shifting towards the Java EE platform.  While functionality pegged for Java EE 7 was previewed at least as early as Devoxx, the filing of these JSRs marks the first, officially proposed, specifications for the next generation of the popular application server standard.  Let's take a quick look at the proposed new functionality.

Java Persistence API 2.1
The first of the new proposed specifications is JSR 338: Java Persistence API (JPA) 2.1. JPA is designed for use with both Java EE and Java SE and:

"deals with the way relational data is mapped to Java objects ("persistent entities"), the way that these objects are stored in a relational database so that they can be accessed at a later time, and the continued existence of an entity's state even after the application that uses it ends. In addition to simplifying the entity persistence model, the Java Persistence API standardizes object-relational mapping." (more about JPA)

JAX-RS 2.0
The second of the new Java specifications that have been proposed is JSR 339, otherwise known as JAX-RS 2.0. JAX-RS provides an API that enables the easy creation of web services using the Representational State Transfer (REST) architecture.  Key features proposed in the new JSR include a Client API, improved support for URIs, a Model-View-Controller architecture and much more!

More information
Official proposal for Java Persistence 2.1 (jcp.org)
Official proposal for JAX-RS 2.0 (jcp.org)
Kicking off Java EE 7 with 2 JSRs: JAX-RS 2.0 / JPA 2.1 (the Aquarium)

The three day conference is punctuated by a series of keynotes on the future of Java, Java SE and EE.  In today's keynote Mark Reinhold, Chief Architect, Java Platform Group at Oracle, presented "Java SE: The Road Ahead." He went over the main themes of future releases: productivity, performance, universality, modularity, integration and serviceability. The road ahead is Java SE 7 in mid- 2011 with most of "Project Coin" and Java SE 8 in mid-2012 with Lambda expressions and "Project Jigsaw"

The other two big subjects of the day were JAX-RS and Java Persistence 2.0. Also known as JSR-311, JAX-RS facilitates the creation of RESTful web services with Java and the Java JVM. Paul Sandoz, co-spec lead for JAX-RS, explored its integration with Java EE 6 and especially with Servlet 3.0, CDI 1.0 and EJB 3.1. The features of JAX-RS 2.0, the next version, and its potential for integration with other technologies, were also discussed. The other popular subject was Java Persistence 2.0, the API for object-relational mapping for Java EE and SE. Linda DeMichiel, Senior Architect, went over the key new features: the object relational mapping and modeling. A lot of the new features are based on developer feedback. 

 

Learn more:

Mark Reinhold blog 
JDK features
State of the Lambda
Joe Darcy on project coin 
Project Jigsaw 

JAX-RS project 
JAX-RS specifications 
Linda DeMichiel blog 
Java Persistence 2.0 specifications