This is hardly unexpected. After Apache issued its challenge to Oracle, it was all but a foregone conclusion that the Java SE 7 would be approved. I think it disingenuous to simply label the “aye” votes cowardly, however. My opinion is that the Java ecosystem was at serious risk in the absence of Oracle dispersing some of the ambiguity. While the justifications for the “aye” votes were weak, I do not think the votes themselves were necessarily wrong.

What happens now with the JCP is a more interesting question. Was this strong-arming on the part of Oracle a one-time necessity? Does it set an uncomfortable precedent that will be later abused? I suspect this transgression will be quickly forgotten if Java SE 7 is a success, in which case Apache will hopefully be versatile enough to re-invest itself with Oracle for the betterment of the community. Regardless, a permanent cloud will hover over the JCP, with members knowing that the process is little more than a feel-good façade that can be stripped away when it suits the owning organization (first Sun now Oracle), and I fear this will inject more long-term ambiguity into the governance of the Java framework.

Oracle should either empower the JCP to be an independent standards organization, rather than a group subsumed and managed by Oracle, or stop pretending that Java is led by an open standard and simply bring it fully within the purview of Oracle, dismissing the façade. I would advocate for the former, as I think that is more beneficial for the long-term health of the Java ecosystem, though I suspect the latter is more attractive to those who watch Oracle’s bottom line.