Eclipse announces EclipseLink project

SANTA CLARA, USA: The Eclipse Foundation has announced that Sun, the lead for the Java Persistence API (JPA) 2.0, JSR 317 standard has selected the EclipseLink project as the reference implementation.

The Eclipse Persistence Services Project (EclipseLink), led by Oracle, delivers an open source runtime framework supporting key persistence standards. The EclipseLink project provides a rich set of services that address complex mapping, performance and scalability and advanced functionality required for enterprise Java applications.

JSR 317, the Java Persistence API, is the Java API for the management of persistence and object/relational mapping for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) and Java Platform, Standard Edition environments. As the reference implementation, EclipseLink will provide a proven, commercial quality persistence solution that can be used in both Java SE and Java EE applications.

“Using EclipseLink as the reference implementation of JSR 317 is another great example of the JCP and Eclipse communities working together to streamline the development of Java software applications,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation. “Open collaboration such as this helps drive the wide adoption of technology.”

To provide an extensible framework that enables Java software developers to interact with relational databases, XML, and Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) in an efficient and productive manner, the EclipseLink project will deliver persistence services that focus on performance, productivity, and flexibility.

The EclipseLink project was initiated with Oracle’s contribution of the full source code and test suite for Oracle TopLink. The project builds on the success of TopLink Essentials which is featured in Sun Microsystems’ GlassFish Open Source Application Server, the JPA 1.0 reference implementation, which was also based on Oracle TopLink.

“The decision to use EclipseLink within GlassFish V3, Sun’s open source reference implementation of the Java EE 6 standard, is in direct response to the requests for advanced features we have received from our user community and exemplifies the innovation and success of the open source initiatives at Sun. Seeing yet another community help advance a JCP standard demonstrates the strong adoption of Java technology and the JCP. We are enthusiastic with this opportunity to work with Oracle and the Eclipse Foundation,” said Karen Tegan Padir, vice president of Infrastructure Software, Sun.

He added, “The GlassFish community continues to grow and demand enterprise-class solutions. Our association with EclipseLink is an example of multiple communities and partners working together to deliver on the Java software community’s requests.”

“As the EclipseLink project lead, providing the reference implementation for JPA 2.0 complements Oracle’s ongoing commitment to provide flexibility and choice to the Java software and open source developer communities,” said Dennis Leung, vice president of Engineering, Oracle. “Leveraging over a decade of commercial usage, the EclipseLink project provides a comprehensive open source solution focused on standards and the advanced features required by the next generation of enterprise Java software applications.”