7 Replies Latest reply on May 21, 2011 4:16 AM by henk53

    Plans for JBoss AS 7 Java EE Certification?

    stuart_wildcat

      Any updates to the plans for certifying JBoss AS 7 for the various Java EE profiles?  I tried to ask in one of the relevant threads where this had been discussed before but with no response.

       

      For those that may not be aware I posted a survey and collected some results that showed there was a broad interest in JBoss AS 7 being certified for the "Full Java EE" profile instead of just the "Web Profile" JBoss AS 6 supports.  According to the results of that survey this is an issue of great importance to the community (and paying customers) but one that is not very visible in terms of public plans for certification.

       

      This may have commercial implications for JBoss because according to the latest iteration of the Java EE 6 compatibility page from Oracle it looks like they will actually distinguish between servers that support both profiles or those that only support the Web Profile.  Certainly having JBoss only listed in the "Web Profile" list will give ammunition to the Oracles and IBMs of the world in positioning their servers in competition with JBoss.

       

      I had thought about posting a JIRA in the new JBoss AS 7 JIRA project about full Java EE certification and seeing how many votes it could get but had hoped to get some more public discussion of plans from the developers without bringing this up as a JIRA issue...

       

      Thanks,

      Stuart Smith

        • 1. Plans for JBoss AS 7 Java EE Certification?
          dmlloyd

          Stuart Smith wrote:

           

          Any updates to the plans for certifying JBoss AS 7 for the various Java EE profiles?  I tried to ask in one of the relevant threads where this had been discussed before but with no response.

          Yes, the plan has always been that AS 7 will be certified with the full profile but not for 7.0, which will most likely just be web profile.  This isn't something that's negotiable; it's a question of resources.  Probably 7.1 will be, which will come hopefully a few months later.

          • 2. Plans for JBoss AS 7 Java EE Certification?
            stuart_wildcat

            What impact would this have on the JBoss EAP?  Since most EAP clients are looking for the stability of a supported platform I would assume they would not want to have an "in between" version that is only web profile only to have a full profile version later.

             

            Maybe EAP 6 would include JBoss AS 7.1 similar to how EAP 5.0 included JBoss AS 5.1?

             

            Is there someplace available publically where this is documented (JIRA, developer forums, etc)?  I think the biggest issue for most of us is just not knowing one way or the other what the plans are.  Even talk that there might be a 7.1 version is news to me.

             

            If there is someplace where this certification strategy is documented we can watch the progress on that and stop asking questions like this.

             

            Thanks,

            Stuart

            • 3. Plans for JBoss AS 7 Java EE Certification?
              richsharples

              Hey Stuart, first - I appologise for not responding to this thread and previous threads sooner but JBoss World and travel consumed all my bandwidth for a month or so. Second, thanks for taking the time and interest to gather some data on user preferences as it relates to EE vs. Web Profile. While I didn't completey agree with the survey method or results I think it does still support the feeling that EE remains an important standard for Enterprise computing and the Web Profile (while a step in the right direction) isn't really sufficient as currently defined, for the broad range of enterprise use cases.

               

              The plans for JBoss EAP 6 always had an end-goal of full EE certification but we wanted to use the Web Profile to deliver EAP 6 faster. While Java EE 6 is one of the key drivers for EAP 6 - it's certainly not the only one. So the original plan was EAP 6 (only passing the Web Profie TCK, but including many other EE technlogies) following up with an EAP 6.1 which provided some of the other technologies and full EE TCK.

               

              As we announced at JBoss World 2011 - we've changed that plan and essentially combined the EAP 6.0 and 6.1 releases. This means a later GA for EAP 6 but an earlier release that is fully EE 6 certified. This is a much clearner deliver plan and will be much easier for us to communicate our support for Java EE 6.

               

              There were a number of reasons for this change - one of them was the great community feedback we got both here on the forums and during JBoss World. So thanks to yourself and many others who made their voices heard.

               

              My JBoss EAP 6 slides for JBoss World haven't been posted yet but I'll provide a link when they're available. We'll also being doing a web cast in a month or so to outline the roadmap for AS 7 / EAP 6 as we move into Early Access for EAP 6.

               

              Finally - I did create a little survey of my own - I'm still very interested in understanding what people think of EE 6 and the various technologies and APIs it incorporates. The tool is a little kludgy and the survey a little longer than I'd hoped but should only take a few minutes to complete :

               

              https://www.keysurvey.com/survey/363567/2ae4/

               

              I plan to share the results.

               

              Rich Sharples

              Director, Product Management for JBoss

              Red Hat

              • 4. Re: Plans for JBoss AS 7 Java EE Certification?
                stuart_wildcat

                Rich,

                 

                Many thanks for the update!  To tell you the truth I've been buried under other things so I haven't had a chance to try and catch up on what happened at JBoss World.  If you can post a link to the "EAP Roadmap" presentation you mentioned above I think that would help tremendously.

                 

                Even though the plan you mention might delay the EAP 6 release a little bit I think it will be the best plan.  Trying to explain to clients (and annoying developers like myself ) that EAP 6.0 wouldn't be full profile but EAP 6.1 would be would probably have just taken time away from actually implementing and passing the full profile certification.

                 

                Truthfully I have JBoss clients that are even now just moving to EAP 5.x because they also have to support on several platforms depending on what their clients use so they move slower than the individual developer/consultant that is always looking to grab the next thing.  For EAP clients I think stability is valued more than lightning speed so it sounds like your plan will give them that while at the same time being able to use the AS open source model to get feedback and bug reports to fold back into the development.

                 

                I would also like to personally thank you, Dimitris, and the other JBoss people that have been involved in this discussion.  Even though I agree the survey I did was not very scientific I think it helped promote the discussion and it is great that you guys have been able to use that and respond to that even though it has probably meant several changes in the "plan" over the last several months.  I'm sure that all of us that follow JBoss but are not always directly involved certainly value that and it is one thing that sets JBoss apart.

                 

                I will go ahead and take your survey and I'm looking forward to the upcoming releases.  The new domain adminsitration model looks very exciting and I can't wait to go back to all of our JBoss clients we have worked with over the years and tell them "JBoss has made tons of improvements that will make your life easier"!

                 

                Thanks,

                Stuart Smith

                Java and Administration Lead

                Web Age Solutions

                http://www.webagesolutions.com

                • 5. Plans for JBoss AS 7 Java EE Certification?
                  henk53

                  Stuart Smith wrote:

                   

                  This may have commercial implications for JBoss because according to the latest iteration of the Java EE 6 compatibility page from Oracle

                   

                  Is it just me, or isn't JBoss AS not listed (anymore) in any section of Java EE 6 compatibility?

                  • 6. Re: Plans for JBoss AS 7 Java EE Certification?
                    stuart_wildcat

                    henk de boer wrote:

                     

                    Stuart Smith wrote:

                     

                    This may have commercial implications for JBoss because according to the latest iteration of the Java EE 6 compatibility page from Oracle

                     

                    Is it just me, or isn't JBoss AS not listed (anymore) in any section of Java EE 6 compatibility?


                    Was JBoss listed before?  I haven't looked at that page too often so I don't know.

                    • 7. Re: Plans for JBoss AS 7 Java EE Certification?
                      henk53

                      Stuart Smith wrote:Was JBoss listed before?  I haven't looked at that page too often so I don't know.

                       

                      I'm not sure either. I do know that Resin was only very recently certified and it's listed, so it's probably not a matter of time.

                       

                      Strange...