At Devoxx back in December I presented a list of candidate features for JDK 7 (video, interview); more recently, at FOSDEM, I discussed that list as well as the high-level schedule and the means by which we plan to deliver the release (slides, audio/video).

The high-level schedule is now available on the JDK 7 Project page in the OpenJDK Community along with a detailed feature list, the near-term build and integration schedule, and the long-term, build-by-build calendar.

The JDK 7 feature list, like that of any large software project, is provisional and subject to change based upon new information and new proposals.

Who Many of the planned features will be implemented by Sun engineers; the rest will be contributed from outside Sun. We’ll shortly define a process by which additional features can be proposed—so long as you’re willing to write not just the code but also the necessary tests and specification material. There will also be a simpler, lighter-weight process for smaller changes.

Where Regardless of who writes the code, the expectation is that all development will take place in the open, either in the JDK 7 Project, in some other OpenJDK Project, or elsewhere.

What about the JCP? The JDK 7 Project is creating a prototype of what might—or might not—wind up in the Java SE 7 Platform Specification. When the SE 7 Platform JSR is submitted then the features under development in JDK 7 will be proposed for inclusion therein, except for those that are VM-level or implementation-specific.

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