JDK 7u4 and JavaFX 2.1 released, now also including Mac OS X

Java releases at Oracle are becoming a clockwork operation. As planned, JDK 7u4 is now available, along with JavaFX 2.1, and new versions of Java SE for Embedded. Specifically:

Java SE 7 Update 4:

• • For the first time, official support for Mac OS X
• Includes the highly anticipated G1 (“Garbage First”) garbage collector, improving memory management for very large applications
• Next step in converging Oracle JRockit and HotSpot VMs, offering the best features of both technologies
• Numerous performance improvements to the JVM
• OpenJDK continues to host the development of Java SE 7 on Mac OS X and the JDK 8 reference implementation

Java FX 2.1:

• Available for Windows and Mac OS X (with Linux support currently as preview release)
• Includes playback of MPEG-4 multimedia containing H.264/AVC video and AAC audio
• New WebView support for JavaScript to Java method calls, which enables JavaScript content to leverage Java for demanding operations
• Support for enhanced font rendering on LCD displays, including sub-pixel rendering
• Additional UI enhancements such as combo box, stacked chart, and application-wide menu bar
• Bundled with the Java 7u4 release
• Oracle has started the OpenJFX project in OpenJDK as part of the plan to open source JavaFX

Java SE for Embedded 6 and 7:

• Java SE for Embedded is the product line that brings Java SE to a number of embedded platforms and includes many features and performance enhancements targeted to embedded requirements, such as low footprint, power usage, and performance
• Java SE 7u4 Embedded and Java SE 6u32 Embedded 6 releases are now available, following Java SE releases in lockstep
• For more details, see here

For information, see the press release. For more details and a Q&A, check Henrik Stahl’s blog.

To download, go here.

Cheers,

– Terrence