Goodbye 2006, Welcome 2007

• Web Services Interoperability Technology (WSIT) is making interoperability between Java- and .NET 3.0-based Web services a reality. A stable version of WSIT is available via GlassFish and a nightly version can be downloaded here. Two milestones were released with an astounding success at different plug-fests.
• Java API for XML Web Services 2.1 (JSR 224) was approved by the JCP. The WS-Addressing, initially supported through JSR 261, was then subsumed within JSR 224.
• jMaki beta 2, an Ajax framework that provides a light weight framework for creating JavaScript centric Ajax-enabled web applications using Java, PHP and Phobos, was released recently.
• NetBeans went through a year of multiple releases and awards (NetBeans 5.0, 5.5 Beta, 6.0 Milestone 5, JDJ Editors Choice Award and many other achievements).
• Java SE 6 was released earlier this month. Easy to use Web services APIs and Scripting support in Java applications are my two most favorite features. Check Danny's blog for top 10 new features in JavaSE 6 to upgrade.
• GlassFish v2 Milestone 3 was released earlier this month and well on it's way to become the most feature rich, easy to use and highly performant open source App server, ever.

On a personal front ...

• I made my first JavaOne keynote appearance showing WSIT and Windows Communication Foundation interoperability. 
• I ran almost 850 miles in the year, completed my first marathon and looking forward to next one.
• I bought a new Nikon D80 and plan to improve my photographic skills.
• And last but not the least, "I" won the Time person of the year award - 2006. Wikipedia, MySpace, YouTube and many others belongs to a breed of "social experiment" technologies that is changing the way people are interacting with each other. Here is a small table that shows the number of blog entries I posted during the past two years on my two blogs:
  

  	2005	2006
  blogs.sun.com/arungupta	24	95 (including this)
  weblogs.java.net/blog/arungupta	46	61 (including this)
  Total	70	156

  The number of entries I posted doubled over the past year, the strength of GlassFish, WSIT, JAX-WS and NetBeans community increased tremendously, helped one another for nothing, and building open source software is that's what this "social experiment" is all about. This is what is "founding and framing the digital democracy".

This is by no means an exhaustive list of accomplishments either by Sun Microsystems or any other group within Sun. This is only an attempt to capture how and where I spent my time last year. There are still miles to go and a lot to be done. Today is the last day of 2006 and I'm ready for 2007.

Welcome 2007 and a very happy new year!!!

_{Technorati: HappyNewYear 2006 2007 WSIT GlassFish Marathon Ajax JAX-WS NetBeans}