From the spec:
The focus of J2EE 5.0 is ease of development. To simplify the development process for programmers just starting with J2EE, or developing small to medium applications, we've made extensive use of Java language annotations that were introduced by J2SE 5.0. Annotations reduce or eliminate the need to deal with J2EE deployment descriptors in many cases. Even large applications can benefit from the simplifications provided by annotations.As expected, the EC passed it unanimously, with IBM still making the usual comments about licensing they've included on all JSR votes in the last 6 months:
IBM's vote is based on the technical merits of this JSR and is not a vote on the licensing terms. IBM supports licensing models that create an open and level playing field by allowing third parties to create independent implementations of Java Specifications and that do not allow individuals or companies to exercise unnecessary control for proprietary advantage. We support open source as a licensing model for contributions in the JCP, and would hope others will support this direction. This comment is not necessarily directed at the current business or license terms for this JSR, however, it is a statement of IBM's preferred licensing model.The specific API's mandated for Java EE 5 are:
Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) 3.0
Servlet 2.4
JavaServer Pages (JSP) 2.1
Java Message Service (JMS) 1.1
Java Transaction API (JTA) 1.0
JavaMail 1.3
JavaBeans Activation Framework 1.1
J2EE Connector Architecture 1.5
Web Services for J2EE 1.1
Java API for XML-based RPC (JAX-RPC) 1.1
Java API for XML Web Services (JAX-WS) 2.0
Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) 2.0
SOAP with Attachments API for Java (SAAJ) 1.3
Java API for XML Registries (JAXR) 1.0
Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition Management API 1.0
Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition Deployment API 1.1
Java Authorization Service Provider Contract for Containers 1.0
Debugging Support for Other Languages (JSR-45)
Standard Tag Library for JavaServer Pages (JSTL) 1.1
Web Services Metadata for the Java Platform 1.0
JavaServer Faces 1.2 Requirements
Common Annotations for the Java Platform 1.0
Streaming API for XML (StAX) 1.0
Java Persistence API 1.0
The spec does not mention JSR 223 scripting integration, Service Data Objects, or the Work Manager API.