In a first for the open-source tooling organization, the Eclipse Foundation has won a seat on a Java Community Process (JCP) executive committee.

The election presents a peculiar alliance in that Sun is the founder of Java and perhaps still dominates its development but is not a member of Eclipse. Sun holds a permanent seat on JCP executive committees.

Launched in 1998, the JCP oversees various amendments made to the Java platform, which are the subject of Java Specification Requests (JSRs). The JCP Program Management Office announced Tuesday results of 2007 JCP Executive Committee elections. Eclipse was newly elected to the Java SE/EE (Standard Edition/Enterprise Edition Executive Committee. Committee members given new terms include the Apache Software Foundation, Google, Nortel, and Red Hat Middleware.

Eclipse joined the JCP this year. Sun is one of the few major holdouts from Eclipse, which features such companies as IBM, Oracle and BEA Systems. Sun instead focuses on the NetBeans open source tooling platform.

Representing Eclipse on the executive committee will be Mike Milinkovich, executive director of Eclipse.

"We are very honored to be elected to the JCP executive committee," Milinkovich said in a statement released by Eclipse on Tuesday morning. "The success of the Java community is very important to the long-term success of Eclipse. Therefore, I expect to be an active participant in ensuring the JCP moves towards a more open and collaborative environment for setting the future direction of Java."

Sun applauded the election of the rival open-source tools organization.

"It's great to see the Eclipse Foundation and Time Warner Cable among the newly elected members," of JCP executive committees, said Patrick Curran, chair of the JCP and director of the JCP Program at Sun. "Eclipse adds open-source expertise, which will help the JCP broaden its push toward greater collaboration and openness." 

Newly elected to the Java ME (Micro Edition) Executive Committee was Time Warner Cable. Re-elected were Intel, Orange France SA, Research in Motion, and Samsung Electronics.  

"Time Warner brings the perspective of the digital TV industry -- a rapidly growing market for Java technology," Curran said.

Members will take office on November 27 and participate in their first meetings on December 4. They each serve three-year terms.