To achieve this, the JCP specifies the addition of the new role of Observer to be added to the process. This should allow community members to "stand in the shallow end," said Aaron Williams. He then went on to explain that this would allow experts who don't have the time to fully participate to still play a role in the process. He also added that it would allows others community members who were not experts to observe and in doing so, be able to see the process before becoming further involved.
The changes will also make the Spec Leads more accountable to the Executive Committee by requiring them to issue quarterly reports. The Executive Committees would also be allowed to appoint observers to the Expert Group. "This will help the EC voting process," said Aaron. This will keep the EC up-to-date on the workings of a JSR's EG.
Other changes include the opening up for the first review to all participants. "We found that there is no benefit to limiting the scope of the review" was the comment from Aaron. "The first review will open up the process to more participants." He went on to comment that "we want to remove the pressure" on the Spec Leads to get it right the first time.
The JSR includes provision for the greater protection of the Java language, mandating that all changed to the language me approved with a super majority in the Execute Committee. "We want to make sure that changes to the language get a little more scrutiny," states Aaron.
In evolving the JCP, Sun Microsystems aims to "make JCP an even more transparent community," provide "early access to information to a broader Java developer audience," and "enhance the collaboration among members and Java developers at large."
Note: A complete overview of JCP 2.6 will appear in an upcoming JDJ issue.