After over two years in development, the JCP voted to approve the final specification for the next enterprise Java platform, Java EE 6. With the exception of the Apache Software Foundation, all EC members who actually voted supported the JSR, according to the JCP's voting results. Apache's nay vote was based on licensing grounds.
Several other Java EE component JSRs were approved at the same time: Servlet 3.0, JPA 2.0, EJB 3.1, Connector 1.6, CDI 1.0. All other components, be they full JSRs or maintenance releases (MRs, for insiders), had been previously approved. I should also mention here that, being part of the platform JSR (JSR-316) the Java EE 6 Web Profile too was approved, and so was the Managed Beans 1.0 specification... So, yes, now we really have profiles in Java EE...
I also happen to think that the level of integration that we achieved between these new APIs and some of the existing ones represents a valuable principle that can guide the evolution of Java EE going forward; certainly I expect future Java EE APIs to be held to the same strict criteria for integration with the rest of the platform that JAX-RS, Bean Validation and CDI were held to in this release.
The Web Profile in particular is exciting because it provides a way for vendors to offer smaller footprint, faster starting, and just generally more nimble servers that will allow developers to rapidly build modern Web applications adhering to the Java EE spec allowing them to move up to the full spec whenever needed with virtually no changes.
What part of the Java EE 6 spec do you think will have the biggest impact on developers?
You didn't note that this is the first JEE to not have a unanimous decision. The Apache Foundation voted no (on principle, rather than technical merit) and both IBM and SAP commented on the licensing issue, which was not made available until the start of the vote two weeks ago.
Are you sure this is the first one? There's a long, contentious history between Apache and the JCP regarding other JSRs, mainly centered around licensing issues. Other EC members also noted the licensing problems when voting on the EE 6 JSR.
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