There are two ways to look at OpenJDK with its zoo of components, sub-groups, CSR's, processes, hierarchies, etc: (a) It's the most bureaucratic open source project in the world (b) it's the most incredible, productive, and reliable open source project in the world*. I think both are true. Moveover I don't think it would be possible to have (b) without (a). So yes, it's unfortunate but unavoidable that it's rarely as easy as filing a PR, which is what most people familiar with "open source" people are used to (including me until I joined this project). That means more effort is required, which means that often one just doesn't have the time to deal with it. Nothing wrong with that.
-Archie * One could argue that Linux shows the "benevolent overlord" model works too, but remember "Linux" only refers to the kernel; everything else is spread across many other organizations, whereas OpenJDK is a one-stop shop for the JVM, the Java language, and all the various JDK modules. On Sat, Jan 24, 2026 at 8:47 AM Attila Kelemen <[email protected]> wrote: > Well, thank you, I guess. I should maybe contribute instead of just > complaining, and things might happen earlier :). I'm just not so great with > long bureaucratic processes, and generally lost how to start if I believe a > feature (even if small) should be implemented in the JDK (or related > tools). That is, my general expectation would be that if I just send a PR, > then it would be ignored and lost within the many things of the JDK (at > least as far as I have seen, actually implementing it is usually secondary > to having it discussed with relevant people). > -- Archie L. Cobbs
