Java EE 7 has been filed as JSR 342 in the JCP program. This JSR (Java Specification Request) will develop Java EE 7, the next version of the Java Platform, Enterprise Edition. It is an "umbrella JSR" because the specification includes a collection of several other JSRs. The proposal suggests the addition of two new JSRs: Concurrency Utilities for Java EE (JSR-236) and JCache (JSR-107) as well as updates to JPA, JAX-RS, JSF, Servlets, EJB, JSP, EL, JMS, JAX-WS, CDI, Bean Validation, JSR-330, JSR-250, and Java Connector Architecture. There are also two new APIs under discussion: a Java Web Sockets API and a Java JSON API. These are the new JSRs that are currently up for ballot:

• JSR 342: Java Platform, Enterprise Edition 7 Specification

• JSR 340: Java Servlet 3.1 Specification

• JSR 341: Expression Language 3.0

• JSR 343: Java Message Service 2.0

• JSR 344: JavaServer Faces 2.2

All 5 JSRs are now up for Executive Committee voting with ballots closing on 14 March, and slated for inclusion in Java EE  7.  All of these JSRs are also open for Expert Group nominations. Any JCP member can nominate themself to serve on the Expert Groups for these JSRs. Details on how to become a JCP member are on jcp.org. The JCP gives you a chance to have your own work become an official component of the Java platform and to offer suggestions for improving and growing the technology. Either way, everyone in the Java community benefits from your participation.

There's a nice discussion about Java EE 7 in this podcast with Java EE spec lead Robert Chinnici and more information in this blog post on the Aquarium. It's exciting to see so much activity currently underway.