JavaOne is finished and I am leaving with a positive feeling about the conference and the Java community. During the closing keynote, one of the community panelist made the point that Oracle presented Vision and Execution at JavaOne. I would also add they presented Community.
Oracle did a nice job of laying out their vision for the next number of years. They presented their objectives for JDK 8 & 9 and futures for Java EE. I might not agree with some of the vision but at least you know where Oracle is heading. They also showed they are focused on execution by delivering Java 7 and laying out a schedule for Java 8. It was nice to see and something really needed.
I also get the feeling Oracle has really energized the JUG leaders and the wider Java community. The closing keynote session was all about community, including a session with the Java Posse. Good things are going to happen moving forward. Unlike when Sun was in control, I actually feel like the Eclipse community is welcomed into an Oracle-led Java community.
Oracle still needs to work on OpenJDK openness and transparency. It is still pretty lame they are still using an Oracle bug tracking system. They also need to work on making it easier for people to actually use the OpenJDK. A poll of the conference attendees show that most people aren’t. Next year at JavaOne lets hope the OpenJDK BOF is packed with active participants.
One thing I do hope Oracle will change is the location of JavaOne. I can’t say enough bad things about the location, especially the Hilton. Next year JavaOne is going to be a LOT bigger. The Hiltton is not going to be able to fit everyone, so hopefully Oracle will move it to a new and better home.
