The module loader would be able to load (at minimum) the following modules:

java.base
java.compiler
java.datatransfer
java.desktop
java.instrument
java.jnlp
java.logging
java.management
java.management.rmi
java.naming
java.prefs
java.rmi
java.scripting
java.se
java.security.jgss
java.security.sasl
java.smartcardio
java.sql
java.sql.rowset
java.xml
java.xml.crypto

The following modules are already deprecated and should be excluded (for now):

java.activation
java.corba
java.se.ee
java.transaction
java.xml.bind
java.xml.ws
java.xml.ws.annotation
jdk.policytool

On Java 8, the loader should be implemented by way of a system dependency which delegates the exact paths of the given module (these can be hard-coded in the approprate JDKSpecific class). On Java 9, it should be implemented using the MODULES-254 solution.

The system dependency methods should then be deprecated, so that users can move away from using javax.api, sun.jdk.api, etc. kinds of modules, towards using the standard module names instead.

The list is not including any jdk.* modules yet. These can be added on an as-needed basis; in particular, they may have different names and/or contents depending on the JDK vendor. The goal would be to provide, on a per-vendor basis, a consistent experience between Java 8 and Java 9 versions.