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Participation
Overview: Getting Involved
 
JCP Participation: Open to Everyone
The JCP gives you a chance to have your own work become an official component of the Java platform and to offer suggestions for improving and growing the technology. Either way, everyone in the Java community benefits from your participation. That's one of the reasons the JCP is open to everyone.
 
Anyone can participate in the JCP at a variety of levels:

There is also:

JCP Joining Process

Note that each rectangle in the flowchart is linked to a page with instructions for that step.


Observer

Anyone with an internet connection can review and comment on:
  1. all specifications developed using the JCP (Early Draft Reviews, Public Review Drafts, Proposed Final Drafts, Final Releases)
  2. all proposals for new or revised specifications (JSR Reviews)
  3. all proposed error corrections and changes to existing specifications (Maintenance Review Drafts)
  4. all Expert Group communications for JCP 2.8 and above JSRs
  5. a public Issue Tracker for all JCP 2.8 and above JSRs
  6. a public archive of all working documents for JCP 2.8 and above JSRs

Please use the appropriate contact alias if you have any questions.

Registered User

An Observer becomes a registered user by registering an account on jcp.org. You retain all the Observer privileges, but registered users can also create a watch list of JSRs, apply to become a Member of the JCP, nominate to participate on a JSR as an Expert Group Member, and/or nominate to participate on a JSR as a Contributor (though one must be a Member to be accepted as Expert Group Member or Contributor).
There are three types of Membership in the JCP that registered users may apply to become: Associate Members, Partner Members, and JCP Members. Each applies to a particular type of participation, and are described in the following paragraphs.

Please use the appropriate contact alias if you have any questions.

JCP Membership

There are three types of JCP Membership, each of which is explained in the following sections. Note that if a person wishes to participate under more than one Membership, each Membership requires the use of a distinct user account/registration.

Associate Member

Associate Members are individuals who wish to be listed as Contributors to one or more JSRs, but who sign the Associate Membership Agreement rather than the Java Specification Participation Agreement.

Associate Members can be Contributors to JSRs' Expert Groups, can attend JCP Member events, and can vote in the annual Executive Committee elections for the two Associate seats. These privileges are displayed in the Membership Classes chart.

Please use the appropriate contact alias if you have any questions.

Partner Member

Partner Members are Java user groups and other non-profit organizations who wish to promote Java and encourage developer participation in JCP activities. Partner Members sign the Partner Membership Agreement rather than the Java Specification Participation Agreement.

Partner Members can serve on the Executive Committee, can attend JCP Member events, and can vote in the annual Executive Committee elections for the ratified and elected seats. These privileges are displayed in the Membership Classes chart.

Registered users who wish to represent an existing Partner Member should request to be associated with that Partner Membership: log in, click "My Profile," then click "request Member association." On the resulting form, select your organization from the list and click "submit." Once the Partner Member confirms it, your account will be given Partner Member privileges.

Please use the appropriate contact alias if you have any questions.

Full Member

Full Members are organizations or individuals who sign the Java Specification Participation Agreement. Full Members can serve on the Executive Committee, vote in the annual Executive Committee elections for the ratified and elected seats, can be listed as Contributors to JSRs, can serve on JSRs' Expert Groups, can attend JCP Member events, and can lead JSRs. These privileges are displayed in the Membership Classes chart.

Representing a Full Member

Registered users who wish to represent their Full Member employers should request to be associated with that Full Membership: log in, click "My Profile," then click "request Member association." On the resulting form, select your organization from the list and click "submit." Once the Full Member confirms it, your account will be given Full Member privileges.

If you are an individual Full Member and you wish to instead represent your Full Member employer, you need to first register a new account on jcp.org, using the e-mail address associated with the employer (the old account will not be used). Then you can follow the same process as for registered users in the previous paragraph. In this case, please also send mail to admin@jcp.org with the subject line "Replace individual membership with [name of employer]'s membership."  

Please use the appropriate contact alias if you have any questions.


 

JCP Member Roles
There are no fees for JCP Membership. JCP Members can participate in a variety of roles:
 
Contributor:
Any Associate Member or Full Member can nominate a person to be a Contributor on a JSR's Expert Groups. A Contributor is publicly recognized as having made contributions to a JSR.
 
Expert Group member:
Any Full Member can nominate a Member Representative to serve on one of the Expert Groups that write Java specifications.

Expert Group members can:

  1. actively shape the content and direction of new and revised Java specifications (Expert Group),
  2. review comments from Members and the Public and use them to improve the quality of a specification (Community Review,Public Review),
  3. a JCP Member on an Expert Group may assume responsibility for maintaining a specification after it is written, taking on the Maintenance Lead role (Maintenance Lead).

 
Specification Lead:
Any Full Member can submit a proposal for a new JSR. Once the JSR is approved by the Executive Committee, the Member begins to lead the JSR, with one or more representatives of that Member acting as Specification Lead(s).

Specification Leads:

  1. choose the other Members of the Expert Group,
  2. guide the work of the Expert Group on the content and direction of the Java specification,
  3. provide the Reference Implementation for the JSR,
  4. are responsible for completing the Technology Compatibility Kit,
  5. usually become the Maintenance Lead of JSRs they direct to Final Release,
  6. produce the milestones of the JSR to be posted on jcp.org (Early Draft Review, Public Review, Proposed Final Draft, et cetera)

 
Executive Committee Member:
Any Full Member or Partner Member can nominate itself for the annual election to serve on the Executive Committee. When such Members self-nominate, they must choose which type of seat they wish: elected, or associate. There are 25 Members of the Executive Committee: 14 ratified seats, 8 elected seats, 2 associate seats, and one permanent seat held by Oracle.  
The EC Members guide the evolution of the Java technologies. The EC represents a cross-section of both major stakeholders and other members of the Java Community.

EC Members:

  1. review and vote to approve or reject new JSR proposals,
  2. review and vote to approve or reject Public Review drafts,
  3. review and vote to approve or reject Final Approval Ballots,
  4. review and vote to approve or reject Maintenance Reviews,
  5. review and provide guidance on licensing terms of JSRs,
  6. decide appeals of first-level TCK test challenges,
  7. decide when JSRs that have not made sufficient progress through the JCP be withdrawn,
  8. collaborate on revisions to the JCP and the JSPA
 
Important: 3 JCP versions and 2 agreements
Depending on the JSRs that you plan to participate in there are two different agreements that you need to sign. The so-called JSPA 2 is for submitting your JSR proposals and for participating in JSRs that use JCP 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8-2.10. The so-called JSPA 1 is for participation in JSRs that use JCP 1.0 or 2.1. You can request this document by contacting the PMO. On each JSR page it says which JCP version it uses. Broadly speaking, all of the different JCP versions fall into three types: JSRs without an Executive Committee (JCP 1.0), JSRs with an Executive Committee (2.0-2.7), and JSRs with an Executive Committee and new transparency requirements (2.8+).

Note that JCP 2.8 and above JSRs are required to operate in a fairly different and distinct manner from earlier JSRs, both in terms of transparency but also in terms of ballot timing/duration and the operation of the Executive Committee. For an overview of JCP 2.8 and above changes, please see the section of the Spec Lead Guide that talks about JCP 2.8 and above.

 
Participation in the JCP by Key Events
  Observer Registered User Associate Member Partner Member Full Member
Review JSRs Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Review specification drafts Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
View Expert Group materials
(JCP 2.8 and above JSRs)
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
View Expert Group
and Contributor nominations
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Be listed as a Supporter for a JSR Proposal Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Create a JSR Watch List   Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nominate Contributors   Yes Yes Yes Yes
Nominate for Expert Group   Yes Yes Yes Yes
Propose new JSRs   Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attend JCP Member events     Yes Yes Yes
Serve as a Contributor to a JSR     Yes   Yes
Vote for an Associated Seat
in the Executive Committee elections
    Yes    
Vote for a Ratified Seat
in the Executive Committee elections
      Yes Yes
Vote for an Elected Seat
in the Executive Committee elections
      Yes Yes
Serve on the Executive Committee       Yes Yes
Review Community Drafts (JCP 2.1)         Yes
Serve on Expert Groups         Yes
Lead JSRs         Yes

 
JCP Members
For a list of the companies and organizations who are JCP Members, visit the Member List.