Latest release of the enterprise Java platform features simpler data access, more streamlined testing, and other enhancements for cloud-native and enterprise-level Java development.
Moving forward with the development of its enterprise Java application platform, the Eclipse Foundation has released Jakarta EE 11 Platform, which promises simpler data access and streamlined testing processes. Java 21 support also is featured.
Rolled out June 26, Jakarta Enterprise Edition 11 homes in on performance and productivity, according to Eclipse. Featured as part of Java EE 11 is Jakarta Data, a new specification designed to simplify data access and improve developer productivity. “Jakarta Data is a new specification that is standardizing the repository pattern for data access,” said Tanja Obradovic, Eclipse Jakarta EE program manager. “It reduces the complexity of the persistence logic that we’re using.”
Core functionality described in the Jakarta Data specification includes BasicRepository, which is a built-in repository supertype for performing basic operations on entities, and CrudRepository, for basic CRUD (create, read, update, and delete) operations, to make database interactions more straightforward and less error-prone. Other parts of the specification include support for both offset and cursor-based pagination and a streamlined query language for Jakarta Data repositories.
The Jakarta EE 11 release builds on previous Core Profile (December 2024) and Web Profile (March 2025) versions and represents a significant advancement in simplifying enterprise Java for cloud-native development, Eclipse said. Microsoft and Red Hat were among the companies that participated in the development of the release. “Our collaboration with esteemed partners IBM, Red Hat, and Oracle has been instrumental in supporting Jakarta EE 11 runtimes on Azure, including Azure Kubernetes Service, Azure Red Hat OpenShift, and App Service,” Microsoft’s Scott Hunter, vice president of product, Azure developer experience, said in a statement.
Jakarta EE 11 has been verified to work with Java 17 and Java 21, both of which are long-term support (LTS) releases of Java SE (Standard Edition). Concurrency enhancements are supported for Java 21 including support for virtual threads, which improves scalability, reduces overhead, and offers significant performance gains, said Eclipse. Future plans call for supporting the upcoming JDK 25 LTS release, due to arrive in September, in Jakarta EE 12, which is targeted for release in 2026.
All Jakarta EE releases are based on the Jakarta EE Platform specification. Streamlined Jakarta EE 11 specifications include a modernized Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) designed to improve compatibility testing and reduce barriers to adding new tests as the platform evolves, Eclipse said. Managed Beans has been deprecated for removal to achieve a simpler and more modern programming model, while Context and Dependency Injection (CDI) enhancements promise more consistent application behavior. Other streamlined specifications cover Java records support, for broader integration for data integrity and reduced boilerplate code, and the removal of Java SE Security Manager, to enable more modern security practices. Tool upgrades in Jakarta 11 move the platform from Apache Ant and Java Test Harness to JUnit 5 and Apache Maven for enhanced efficiency and relevance, Eclipse said. Updating the TCK to a multi-dependency Maven project boosts compatibility testing and removes barriers to adding new tests.
Jakarta EE Working Group members have certified several products as compatible with Jakarta EE 11. For the Web Profile, the Eclipse GlassFish application server has been certified. For the Core Profile, IBM’s Open Liberty microservices framework, Red Hat’s WildFly application server, the Payara Platform Community Edition, and the Fujitsu Software Enterprise Application Platform have been certified, according to Eclipse. This list is expected to grow rapidly after Jakarta EE 111’s release.
Previously under Oracle’s jurisdiction, Eclipse took over development of enterprise Java in 2017. Enterprise Java previously was known as Java EE. Oracle sought to turn over the project to an open source organization while remaining the steward of standard Java. The predecessor to Jakarta EE 11, Jakarta EE 10, arrived in September 2022.
