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Oracle has released a new version of its Java Development Kit, JDK 7 Update 40 (JDK 7u40), which includes new diagnostic, monitoring, security and deployment capabilities for Java Platform Standard Edition 7 (Java SE 7).
The latest features and enhancements to JDK 7 include advanced monitoring and diagnostic capabilities that enable developers to gather detailed runtime information and perform efficient data analysis, without impacting system performance; a new security policy that gives system administrators greater control over Java running on desktops; improved performance and efficiencies for Java on ARM servers; and support for Mac OS X retina displays.
“With JDK 7 Update 40 Oracle and the Java community are delivering features and enhancements to the Java platform that provide advanced monitoring and analysis of Java application data, which will help enterprise customers more rapidly analyze, understand and resolve issues; greater security and control over end user Java environments for system administrators; increased efficiency and responsiveness of Java applications running on ARM servers; and an overall improved user experience for both developers and end users,” said Georges Saab, vice president of Java SE development at Oracle, in a statement.
Oracle will highlight the availability of JDK 7 Update 40 and other Java technology updates at JavaOne San Francisco 2013, Sept. 22-26.
With the release of JDK 7u40, Oracle is continuing its work to merge the Oracle HotSpot Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and Oracle JRockit into the JDK, which will include the best features from each of these implementations.
The company also said the Oracle Java Mission Control and Oracle Java Flight Recorder are now available as commercial features in the Oracle Java SE Advanced product—they are freely available for download for development and evaluation purposes as part of JDK 7u40, but require the Oracle Java SE Advanced license for production use under the Oracle Binary Code License Agreement. Oracle Java Mission Control and Oracle Java Flight Recorder continuously collect detailed runtime information, with virtually zero overheard, from the JVM and other event producers, such as application servers. Customers can use the advanced graphical tools for profiling and after-the-fact incident analysis to help understand and resolve issues and for monitoring and fulfilling service-level agreements (SLAs).
A new security feature in JDK 7u40 is Deployment Rule Set, which enables a system administrator to control which applets or Java Web Start applications an end user is permitted to execute and which version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is associated with them. Deployment Rule Set provides a common environment to manage employee access in a controlled and secure manner.
Oracle also said JDK 7u40 is fully certified for ARM v7 and includes new support for “hard-float,” which is designed to improve performance and responsiveness for GUI applications and Java server applications running on ARM servers. The latest release also provides new support for Mac OS X retina displays. Java will now recognize retina displays and automatically generate higher resolution graphics. And JDK7 is now the default Java version for the latest generation of Oracle Fusion Middleware products, Oracle officials said.
This year at JavaOne, the Java Strategy and Technical keynotes, as well as the IBM keynote, will be held on Sept. 22, beginning at noon PT in Moscone Center, Hall D, and the Community and Freescale keynotes will be held on Sept. 26, beginning at 9:00 a.m. PT in the Continental Ballroom of the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. JavaOne 2013 includes more than 450 sessions and more than 50 exhibitors.
The Java Embedded Challenge for Raspberry Pi will give attendees the chance to develop a Raspberry Pi application using Java Embedded over three days while at JavaOne. The challenge will be hands-on, collaborative and innovative. JavaOne attendees with a full conference pass can register to reserve a space.
Also, the JavaOne Codegarten will take place in the Oracle Technology Network Lounge Sept. 23-25, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT. This event gives developers the chance to participate in open-source communities by dropping in, joining a group, picking a feature or bug to work on, and submitting the results. In many cases, open-source project leads will be in attendance.