Oracle Releases Java Development Kits for OS X as Work on Java SE 7 for Mac Continues

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java iconBack in late 2010, Apple announced that it would cease supporting Java for OS X, with Steve Jobs noting that Apple was always a version behind that being distributed by Sun/Oracle, which handled Java for all other platforms.

Confusion about whether Oracle would step into the Java void created by Apple's removal of support was addressed several weeks later when Apple and Oracle announced plans to expand Oracle's OpenJDK project to include OS X as a means to deliver Java SE 7 to Mac users.

Oracle today announced that is taking the next step toward OS X compatibility with the release of Java SE 7 Update 4 and JavaFX 2.1. For Java developers, the update marks the first release of the Java Development Kit (JDK) and JavaFX Software Development Kit for OS X. The OpenJDK community is continuing its work on a consumer version of Java SE 7 for OS X, and Oracle says that a public release for consumers will be coming "later in 2012".

This release marks Oracle’s first delivery of both the Java Development Kit (JDK) and JavaFX Software Development Kit (SDK) for Mac OS X.

- Java developers can now download Oracle’s JDK, which includes the JavaFX SDK, for Mac OS X from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

- Oracle plans to release a consumer version of Java SE 7, including the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for Mac OS X later in 2012.

While the transition to Oracle/OpenJDK for Java support on OS X continues, Steve Jobs' comments about Apple's Java packages always being a version behind and how that arrangement "may not be the best way to do it" proved prescient in recent weeks with the appearance of the Flashback malware. The latest incarnations of Flashback managed to infect over 600,000 Macs by taking advantage of a vulnerability in Java that had been patched by Oracle in February but which had not yet been patched on OS X.

In response, Apple released several updates to Java for OS X, including one that disables the automatic execution of Java applets. As an additional layer of security, once a user manually turns on automatic execution, the system will once again disable it after a period of time if no applets have been executed.

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Top Rated Comments

FrancoisC Avatar
FrancoisC
160 months ago
Java is the worst thing about OS X. It's like having a little bit of Microsoft under the hood to hog memory and weaken security. Banish it forever! And while you're at it, banish Javascript from the web!

You do know that javascript is not Java right?

Also, sure, lets banish Java, a cross platform runtime that is used practically everywhere :rolleyes:

Anyway, on topic; good to know :)
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RMo Avatar
RMo
160 months ago
Java is the worst thing about OS X. It's like having a little bit of Microsoft under the hood to hog memory and weaken security. Banish it forever! And while you're at it, banish Javascript from the web!

You do realize that Java and JavaScript are completely different, correct? While JS is hardly a pleasant language to code in (in my opinion), few modern websites would work without it (e.g., Gmail, which was one of the pioneer apps in pushing its capabilities).
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MonkeySee.... Avatar
MonkeySee....
160 months ago
Java is the worst thing about OS X. It's like having a little bit of Microsoft under the hood to hog memory and weaken security. Banish it forever! And while you're at it, banish Javascript from the web!

If we banished Javascript, we wouldn't have the pleasure of -1 your post :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macsrcool1234 Avatar
macsrcool1234
160 months ago
Java is the worst thing about OS X. It's like having a little bit of Microsoft under the hood to hog memory and weaken security. Banish it forever! And while you're at it, banish Javascript from the web!
I almost died with laughter at this statement. People STILL confuse Java with javascript?


Banish javascript from the web? Turn off javascript from your browser. Enjoy gimped web surfing.

There are plenty of client-side scripting language options to replace Javascript. If you ask me if I know the difference between these two languages then you truly are daft.

The original team on Java and it's Foundation Classes came from NeXT. I'll end the conversation now. The Oak Programming Language is a compromise between ObjC and C++ and a real hog, though nothing of a hog compared to Flash.
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yg17 Avatar
yg17
160 months ago
Java is the worst thing about OS X. It's like having a little bit of Microsoft under the hood to hog memory and weaken security. Banish it forever! And while you're at it, banish Javascript from the web!


Do me a favor, disable JavaScript in your browser and see how long you last until you turn it back on. I give it 5 minutes tops.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
afin Avatar
afin
160 months ago
Java is still java no matter where our updates come from...
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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