Sun Updates JavaFX, Java SE

SAN FRANCISCO—At its JavaOne conference here, Sun Microsystems June 2 released the latest updates of the JavaFX platform and Java Platform, Standard Edition, or Java SE.

"The JavaFX platform provides a unified development and deployment model for building expressive, rich Internet applications (RIAs) across browsers, desktops, mobile devices and TVs. JavaFX 1.2 delivers a new user interface library and performance enhancements to improve the user experience associated with JavaFX applications," Sun said in a news release. Sun maintained in the release:

JavaFX has gained significant market momentum with more than 250 million installations of the JavaFX run-time environment and 400,000 downloads of the JavaFX SDK [software development kit] since its release in December 2008. Java SE 6 Update 14 includes expanded Windows support, a streamlined installer and performance enhancements. Download the latest version of JavaFX and Java SE at: http://www.javafx.com.

Resource Library:

According to Sun, "The JavaFX 1.2 platform release is complemented by the first public preview of JavaFX TV, which completes the vision of JavaFX applications running across browsers, desktops, mobile devices, and TVs. Sun also previewed the JavaFX Authoring Tool, which allows designers and Web developers to visually create JavaFX applications." The authoring tool helps developers to "easily create cloud-based interactive rich applications" and "allows for the simple importing and compositing of graphical, audio and video assets," Sun said.

Click here to read about the JavaOne debut of Sun's Java Store.

For its part, Java SE 6 Update 14 "delivers Java Hotspot Client VM [virtual machine] with Garbage-First Collector. The new 'Garbage-first' or 'G1' Garbage Collector is a more efficient and effective dynamic memory management scheme designed to minimize the program interruptions needed to reclaim system memory. It also provides new enterprise capabilities via 64-bit plug-in support, as well as support for [the] Internet Explorer 8 Web browser and the upcoming Windows 7 operating system," Sun officials said.

"The latest version of JavaFX, combined with updates to Java SE, delivers an enhanced user experience for JavaFX applications," said Jeet Kaul, senior vice president of Java technologies at Sun, in a statement. "JavaFX opens a vast global market for developers and content authors who want to deploy rich, expressive applications, services and experiences across all the screens of their customers' lives. We continue to strengthen the JavaFX ecosystem by helping to enable more people to create content across more device types and establishing a channel, the Java Store, for developers and ISVs to directly deploy JavaFX applications to hundreds of millions of worldwide Java technology users."

Also at the JavaOne conference, Sun "demonstrated a proof of concept of JavaFX TV running on a next-generation LG Electronics TV. JavaFX TV extends the JavaFX platform vision, bringing rich and expressive interactive content to televisions and set-top boxes. It is built on the same family of Java technologies as the Blu-ray Disc standard BD-J, Tru2way and other global TV standards," the company said.