The inaugural JakartaOne Livestream virtual conference, scheduled in conjunction with the formal release of Jakarta EE 8, will go live on September 10th, 2019 with the first of 19 one-hour sessions starting at 7:00am EDT. Focused on Jakarta EE- and MicroProfile-related topics, these sessions include keynotes, demos and panel discussions delivered by a host of Java luminaries.
The opening keynote, scheduled for 12:00pm EDT, will be delivered by Mike Milinkovich, executive director at the Eclipse Foundation, and James Gosling, father of Java and distinguished engineer at Amazon Web Services. They will discuss how Jakarta EE fits into the context of the overall Java ecosystem. Two years in the making, Jakarta EE 8 will be compatible with Java EE 8 with the only exception that Jakarta EE 8 will be open-source and include the technology compatibility kit (TCK).
The JakartaOne program committee, led by program chair Reza Rahman, principal program manager, Java on Azure at Microsoft, includes: Adam Bien, Java SE/EE freelancer and author of several books; Arun Gupta, principal open-source technologist at Amazon Web Services; Ivar Grimstad, principal consultant for the Cybercom Group; Josh Juneau, application developer/system analyst at Fermilab; and Tanya Obradovic, Jakarta EE program manager at the Eclipse Foundation.
Rahman spoke to InfoQ about this inaugural special event.
InfoQ: What was the inspiration to create this conference and what are your goals?
Reza Rahman: The principal goal of the conference is to engage and inform all server-side developers that have a stake in Jakarta EE (formerly Java EE) at a global scale. Since our motivation is not commercial but rather outreach and community building, the best way to deliver this conference is online and free. In addition, all of the rather unique content of this conference will be available for free on-line after the fact. The conference this year celebrates the initial release of Jakarta EE - Jakarta EE 8. Jakarta EE 8 will be delivered on the same day as the conference - September 10th. The conference content will cover what Jakarta EE truly means, Jakarta EE 8, MicroProfile as well as future specifications to come for Jakarta EE.
InfoQ: What is the anticipated online attendance and is there a maximum threshold?
Rahman: We are expecting between 500-1000 participants on the day of the conference alone. There is no real upward threshold. It appears so far we are on target to achieve these numbers. This is of course not counting the content views after the fact.
InfoQ: What is the likelihood that this conference will be an annual event?
Rahman: That is certainly the intent. At some point there might be a physical rendition but I hope the virtual one continues.
InfoQ: What are the differences in logistics for a virtual conference compared to a traditional "brick and mortar" conference?
Rahman: The core spirit of running a conference is essentially the same - learning. You still basically need to do the same stuff - outline a vision, select content, construct the program, manage the event, register attendees and get the word out. I think the primary difference is not needing to deal with a physical venue. That said, you still need to do vendor management of the online platform itself. For our goals, virtual was the right choice. It will help us reach a broad developer base faster.
InfoQ: Will the presentations be made available after the conference is over?
Rahman: Yes, absolutely and like the conference itself, completely for free. People should stay tuned to the official conference Twitter handle to keep track of that.
InfoQ: What else would you like to tell our readers about the JakartaOne Livestream virtual conference?
Rahman: Jakarta EE is a huge deal. This is the first time such a large and important part of the standard Java platform has been out directly into open source. Making this successful means securing the dominance of Java for quite a few more years to come. This is the day we had been dreaming of for such a long time - Java that is truly free and truly open source.
None of this dream can be realized without committed end users, committed contributors and committed stakeholders. The first basic step to that commitment and engagement is attending this conference - so kindly don't neglect to do so. We have done everything we can to make that possible for you. Just check out the program for yourself, register and show up on September 10th.
The conference will be held from 7:00 am through 1:00 am EDT to provide global coverage. Rahman's presentation, "Jakarta EE on Azure Magic Mystery Show," scheduled for 12:00 am EDT on September 11th, will be the last session of this very long day. The conference is free, but registration is required.