Java SE 6 is out

Java Standard Edition 6 has been officially released. For this version Sun is offering 60 days of free, unlimited migration support through Sun Developer Expert Assistance. Besides the publicly announced features, this version offers a performance improvement of 5% to 24% over its predecessor (TheServerSide).

The following list covers the new or improved areas in Java SE 6.

Security Features and Enhancements
Integrated Web Services
Scripting Language Support
Enhanced Management and Serviceability
Increased Developer Productivity (JDBC 4.0, Java Platform Debug Architecture (JPDA) & JVM Tool Interface)
Improved User Experience (Swing performance, Vista support)

You’ll find much more detail in the following articles.

The next image of the file or folder picker illustrates how much closer Swing now looks to the operating system. It comes from the discussion on Around the Web: Java 6.0 Released.

Archive image in Java SE 6 is out, figure 1

Archive image in Java SE 6 is out, figure 2

I was happiest to see the I/O bug fixed that made paths longer than 255 characters impossible on Windows, and to see improvements to the JVM’s debugging interface. I also wiped away another tear, because a lot of water will flow down my hometown river, the Otava, before Java 6.0 sees widespread adoption.

Ondra Nekola (detailed overview) Java 6.0
TheServerSide Sun JSE 6 released
Migrating to Java 5.0: reality or utopia?

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