Sun Microsystems released a new version of Java for Windows, Linux and Solaris recently. Should you rush out to install it? Probably not.
First a bit of level-setting. Version numbers are an ongoing annoyance with Java, and this latest go-round is no different. The new release is identified with six names:
- 1.6.0_10 (from the Java runtime)
- Update 10 of Java Standard Edition 6
- Java (TM) 6 Update 10 (in the Add or Remove Programs thingy in the Control Panel)
- Java SE 6u10
- 6.0.100.33 (by the Secunia scanner)
- 1.6.0_10-b33 (a property of the java.exe file)
From what I've read, this appears to be a pretty big release. There are many new features including some affecting the core of the product. New features inevitably mean new bugs, thus the safer approach is wait. Anyone currently running the previous version of Java (1.6.0_7) is therefore best off doing nothing. To see which version, if any, you have installed simply visit Javatester.org .
If, however, you have an older version of Java installed, then you should update it to 1.6.0_7 (a.k.a. Java 6 Update 7). You can download the older version of Java at java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/6u7/index.html. Click on the "Download JRE" link.
If and when the time comes that you need one of the new Java features, that's the time to upgrade. Chances are, that by that time, the new features may have had a bug or two fixed.
One exception, is anyone using Google's Chrome browser, which requires the latest version (1.6.0_10) of Java.
Mac users don't have a decision, there is no new release of Java for OS X. For whatever reason, Sun -- the company that developed Java -- does not supply it for Macs. But Apple does, and Apple is always behind the curve in terms of new releases.
Here is an alternate link directly to the EXE file for Windows users. This should download file jre-6u7-windows-i586-p.exe, which is about 15MB.
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1
Phobos - 18/11/08
"Mac users don't have a decision, there is no new release of Java for OS X. For whatever reason, Sun -- the company that developed Java -- does not supply it for Macs. But Apple does, and Apple is always behind the curve in terms of new releases."
Yes, that was part of the deal between both companies... If you have an issue with that, blame Apple, not Sun..
Aside from that, do you know of any bug that might force anyone to downgrade or is it only your speculation as your article implies?...
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Steve Michael - 19/11/08
"From what I've read, this appears to be a pretty big release. There are many new features including some affecting the core of the product. New features inevitably mean new bugs, thus the safer approach is wait. Anyone currently running the previous version of Java (1.6.0_7) is therefore best off doing nothing. "
Ok, given your suggestion people should still be running DOS as opposed to any modern operating system. What would have been helpful is for you to mention what features were added and perhaps what performance gains were made (if any). What if something was added that was awesome. Say something like being able to drag an applet out of your browser window and keep it running on your desktop even if the browser window was closed. Or significantly faster startup time? However if there are few new features then, by your analogy there should be few (if any) new bugs.
I do agree that for any mission critial applications it is always better to wait and test a ton before deploying, so in that we agree, however that process should be in place for ANY new software.
Can you give an example of Suns history with Java were an update caused major issues. Specifically an update that wasn't a full dot release? I can't think of any major ones. Sun and the open source community around it seem to go out of their way to maintain backward compatability. Some would argue that this is severly hurting Java.
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Ian M - 03/12/08
Java 6 Update 10 is a massive (and I mean massive!) performance release - this is a major reason to upgrade! Also, bugs aren't necessarily security flaws - there are likely bugs in the previous version of Java that are fixed in this new release.
Your argument about not upgrading as there are no security flaws found that needed fixing is most peculiar. Like the person above said, if people followed your advice we're all still be using DOS!
And anyway, Update 11 came out yesterday, so any new bugs in Update 10 should be largely fixed.
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