The first week in June 2009 will see a host of Java Community Process (JCP) members converging on San Francisco, California USA for events related to the annual JavaOne Conference. These members will come from as far away as Helsinki, Finland; Zurich, Switzerland; S?o Paulo, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan, all bringing their passion for extending Java technology in a standardized way.

JCP members come together for a variety of happy reasons. ?Tis the season to meet old friends, finally get to know fe llow Expert Group members face to face, learn what?s new in the program, honor the new Star Spec Leads, get the latest on technology developments, and congratulate the winners of the community awards. Here is a summary of the event opportunities the JCP community is looking forward to. Watch the JCP PMO blog for more details.

Events begin even before the JavaOne Conference opening day. On Monday, June 1, the Program Management Office (PMO) will host a free Transparency Workshop. The hands on workshop is free of charge and goes from 2:00-5:00 PM at the Intercontinental Hotel, 888 Howard Street, San Francisco. This is a great time for Spec Leads to pick up on tips for fulfilling a JSR?s transparency requirement, or for others to see what the transparency buzz is all about--topics include communications, downloads/drafts, agility, issue tracking, and transparency tools.

A Java User Group (JUG) Leader Meeting will take over the room at 5:00 PM. At 6:30 PM--all current JCP Program JUG leaders or interested JUG leaders are welcome to join members of the JCP Program Office in an interactive discussion on participation and membership benefits.

Spec Leads and Executive Committee members are invited to join the JUG leaders at The Palace Hotel, located at 2 New Montgomery, later that evening at 7 pm for the annual JCP Leaders Dinner. This is an opportunity to introduce and honor the Star Spec Leads for 2009 and for informal networking, socializing, and story-swapping.

During the week of the JavaOne Conference, many of the active Expert Groups schedule face-to-face meetings to discuss the Java Specification Requests (JSRs) they are working on. A room at the Intercontinental Hotel will be available for this purpose, Monday through Friday, June 1-5. Spec Leads can reserve this Expert Group Meeting Room on a first come, first served basis by signing up at the room or sending email to the PMO in advance (recommended).

JCP representatives will hang out in the Community Corner of the Pavilion area in Moscone Hall, Tuesday through Thursday, to be available to chat and answer questions. On Tuesday, June 2 in particular, the JCP community will want to gather there at 12:30 PM, while the PMO makes a General Presentation. The following day, Thursday, June 4, another Round Table discussion will take place in the Community Corner of the Pavilion at 10:00 AM. All are invited to gather around and hear JCP community members say what?s on their minds with regards to transparency, agility, and the future of the program. At the Community Corner you can also preview and register as a user for the new jcp.org web site to be launched in June.

Later on Tuesday, 6:30-9:30 PM, everyone is invited to the always-anticipated Community Party at the Intercontinental Hotel. This is THE place for JCP members to hobnob with architects known around the world, Expert Group members, Spec Leads of the most popular Java standards, EC members, the Chair of the JCP program, and the program office. Participants will enjoy appetizers and drinks, pick up door and raffle prizes, and cheer on the recipients of the coveted JCP Program Annual Awards.

Patrick Curran, the chair of the JCP, along with Executive Committee members and Spec Leads will present a Round Table discussion for press and analysts on Wednesday, June 3. In this way, invited media representatives can hear first-hand about the current situation and future plans for the JCP program.

Later that afternoon at 4:10 PM, a panel discussion will take place at 4:10 PM as a scheduled JavaOne event. PAN-5336 ?MSA 2: How Do We Work Toward a Consistent Java Platform?? is listed in the catalog, along with the ever-popular 7:30 PM Birds of a Feather session, this year focusing on ?Meet the ME Executive Committee.? At the BOF, JavaOne attendees will have the opportunity to comment and ask questions to follow up on the discussion.

On Friday, June 5, the Executive Committee will meet for their own informal gathering. They do so much business together during the year that it is a welcome relief to enjoy some relaxed down time together.

During the week, JSR Spec Leads and Experts will participate in additional technical sessions, BOFs and hands-on-labs and will highlight Java technology standards and JSRs developed through the JCP program. Search in the JavaOne Conference Sessions Catalog using the keyword ?JSR? to discover them all.