[Isolate-interest] any isolation API in J2SE.next will NOT be N:1 style

[Pete Soper]

Curt Cox wrote:
> Pete,
> 
> So the JSR-121 RI is once again to be bundled with a J2SE release?

Yes, I apologize if I just thought I'd shared this with the list but 
upgrading to JCP rev 2.6 process and trying to do a "standalone" RI just 
didn't work out for multiple reasons.

> 
> If that is the case, then hopefully the spec and tests will be
> publicly available long before that.  It will be interesting

As I mentioned some time ago, I intend to share the test code that the 
U. of Utah, Sun research, Miles Sabin and I shared amongst ourselves as 
various prototype and draft implementations were created.It really is 
just a matter of digging through my mail and sticking the files 
someplace with a notice making clear what it is (a hodge-podge 
collection written to 3-4 different API drafts).

But it would be a big mistake to confuse this with a TCK. I would be 
boiled in oil for distributing any TCK source informally and if I'm 
boiled in oil I can't get anything more accomplished. I can't speak for 
Sun policy for Mustang, but if it's as it was in the past the TCK for a 
JSR tends to get finished during the latter part of the development 
cycle and is covered by a specific license of some kind (don't ask me 
the details: I literally don't know the specifics about this). It would 
be cool, IMO, if the TCK source was included with the Mustang source 
drops, but we shouldn't hold our breath for that. There is a terrible 
tension with the TCKs in that until the interfaces stabilize the tests 
can't be completed and the TCK developers naturaly hate to invest a lot 
of energy until the interfaces settle down. In a perfect world the spec, 
RI and TCK would be developed simultaneously.

I can't clearly recall what all the other tests exercised but my tests 
from the Tiger effort included unit tests and stress tests that try to 
beat up an implementation harder than most users would be likely or able 
to do, and they were by no means complete.

As an FYI, at Sun we divide tests into three categories: unit tests, 
user/stress tests and compatibility tests (which for Java are called TCK 
tests which is short for "technical compatibility kit", with the JCK 
being the TCK for all of J2SE if I'm up to date with Sun terminology). 
Here's a little graphic I made once to try to sort out these test types. 
I made this for my own benefit and don't know how much it matches up 
with reality but one internal test group at Sun looked at it and didn't 
laugh me out of the room:

	http://www.bitser.net/images/test_taxonomy.gif

> to see how many alternate implementations are available before
> the reference implementation.

I hope there's one unofficial one for every one of Godmar Back's 
students! And the EG still intends to share informal drafts with this 
interest list with the understanding that they may have to change, 
possibly in frustrating ways.

> 
> If the RI doesn't get budgeted for Mustang, does that put it back
> on a J2SE independent release track or with Dolphin?

I don't know.

-Pete