We shouldn’t confuse the Java SE standard with the Java SE reference implementation.

Check out Sun’s (new) Open Source Java page.

If you look at the “OpenJDK” paragraph in the communities section, you’ll find that Sun is referring to open sourcing Sun’s implementation of Java SE.

It doesn’t mention anything about governance of the Java standard, which is much more important to open source Java if you ask me.

Now if you look at the “OpenJavaEE” paragraph, you’ll notice that they somehow tie GlassFish (Sun’s JEE implementation) to the governance of JEE:

“The community governs the development of specifications, technologies, and products that work together to provide enterprise-level solutions under the Java EE paradigm.”

Now call me crazy, but (1) doesn’t the JCP govern JEE and (2) wouldn’t a true open community like the Apache Geronimo community be a better place for the implementation and governance of JEE?

Why is open source JEE so closely tied to Sun controlled efforts? I thought this was a community story.

Based on what Sun appears to be trying to pull with JEE, I have fairly large reservations about what open source Java SE (implementation and governance) will really look like in the end.

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I am taking a semi-break from IBM life as I return to finish a PhD in Industrial Engineering. I’ve held roles in market intelligence, strategy and product management. I’m ex-product manager of IBM WAS Community Edition, and blog about enterprise open source topics.

JCP’s Executive Committee found nominees for the categories Member of the Year, Most Outstanding Spec Lead for Java Standard Edition/Enterprise Edition, Most Outstanding Spec Lead for Java Micro Edition, Most Innovative JSR for Java Standard Edition/Enterprise Edition, and Most Innovative JSR for Java Micro Edition.

Sun Microsystems said the awards would be announced May 17th during the JCP Community event at the JavaOne Conference taking place this week.

The JCP Program Annual Awards recognize excellence in Java standards development and innovation.

This time around, the nominations focus on areas that have had significant advances for Java Enterprise Edition and Java Micro Edition.

Java Specifications Requests (JSRs) for Java EE 5 and Enterprise JavaBeans 3.0 are among the nominations on the Enterprise side, while a couple of JSRs related to mobile services reside in the Micro Edition side.

A variety of other events are taking place during the conference along with the JCP Awards.

Java University classes began on May 15th, and NetBeans Software Day took place the same day.

Sun’s new CEO Jonathan Schwartz addressed attendees during the morning session on Tuesday, May 16th, while Oracle senior VP Thomas Kurian, Server Technologies Development, will talk about “The Next Application Platform” on Wednesday morning.

All of the events may be viewed on the Conference website.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.