Jakarta EE 12 Milestone 2: Unifying Query Languages for Enhanced Developer Productivity

Jakarta EE 12 Milestone 2: The Next Generation of Enterprise Java

The release of Jakarta EE 12 Milestone 2 marks a significant step towards the next generation of enterprise Java, introducing Jakarta Query as a unified query language across Persistence, Data, and NoSQL. This milestone focuses on integration, modernization, and improving developer productivity for cloud-native enterprise applications, with a baseline of Java 21 and support for Java 25.

Why This Matters

The introduction of Jakarta Query serves as a crucial step in unifying query languages, reducing fragmentation, and improving developer experience across the ecosystem. By providing a single, extensible language that bridges relational and non-relational databases, Jakarta EE 12 aims to increase transparency, eliminate areas of uncertainty, and provide permanent solutions to existing problems. The cost of not adopting such a unified approach could lead to increased complexity, reduced productivity, and higher maintenance costs for enterprises.

Key Insights

• Jakarta Query provides a common object-oriented language for the persistence layer, incorporating Jakarta Persistence Query Language and Jakarta Data Query Language.
• Jakarta Data 1.1 introduces dynamic queries on repositories, improved search capabilities, and stateful repositories, enhancing integration with Jakarta Query.
• Jakarta NoSQL 1.1 facilitates easy integration of NoSQL and Java, supporting a query language via the Core Language feature of Jakarta Query.
• Jakarta Agentic AI provides a set of vendor-neutral APIs for building, deploying, and operating AI agents on Jakarta EE runtimes, promoting interoperability and reliability.

Working Example

// Example of using Jakarta Query to retrieve data
List<Car> cars = template.query("FROM Car WHERE type = :type")
        .bind("type", CarType.SPORT)
        .result();

Practical Applications

• Use Case: Companies like Red Hat and IBM can utilize Jakarta EE 12 to develop cloud-native enterprise applications with improved developer productivity and reduced complexity.
• Pitfall: Not adopting a unified query language approach can lead to increased complexity, reduced productivity, and higher maintenance costs for enterprises, making it essential to consider the benefits of Jakarta Query and Jakarta EE 12.

References:

• https://www.infoq.com/articles/jakartaee-12-milestone-2/
• https://github.com/jakartaee/specifications
• https://www.eclipse.org/community/eclipse_newsletter/2025/february/jakarta_ee_12.php