We know we have a lot of power in the Java platform, but sometimes that power has come at a cost in simplicity. We want to improve that, and Ease-of-Development has been a major focus of Tiger, Mustang and Java EE 5. Sometimes we need to add major new features to simplify life for developers but often the problem isn't that there is missing functionality, but that the existing functionality is cumbersome to use, or requires typing unnecessary boilerplate code.

To give you a sense of the kinds of things I'm talking about, see My Favorite (Dead) Java Boilerplate. That gives five examples of removing rough edges and simplifying common tasks.

We've accomplished a lot already, specially in Tiger and in Java EE 5. But I think there is still more to do and I am looking for the next set of things we ought to try to simplify or eliminate.

You can help. What are your favorite Java annoyances? I'm particularly looking for areas where people regularly have to type in awkward or redundant code that ought to be eliminated. In this context, I am mostly not looking for big language changes or major framework proposals. (We tend to do quite enough of that already!) I'm hunting for the smaller polishings that often get overlooked.

(Many thanks to people who've already posted suggestions!)

If you have other suggestions, send an email describing the problem to java-boilerplate@sun.com. We probably won't be able to respond to individual suggestions, but we will read all the proposals carefully. Note: you don't need to provide a solution. If we can clearly identify the problems we have a large toolbag to attack them with.

This is your chance to help get your favorite rough edges fixed!

- Graham