Oracle upgrades standard Java, JavaFX

 

Java garbage collection, which helps with memory management by reclaiming programming objects, is being improved in JDK. "The Java SE 7 Update 4 JDK includes the next-generation garbage collection algorithm, Garbage First (G1), which has been eagerly anticipated by the Java developer community. G1 provides predictable garbage collection even for very large applications

JavaFX 2.1 introduces playback support for digital media stored in the MPEG-4 multimedia format containing J.264/AVC video and Advanced Audio Coding (AVC) audio. WebView support for JavaScript to Java method calls allow a user to render HTML/JavaScript. Also, users can allow JavaScript in WebView to make calls to Java APIs to offload specific operations to Java. Version 2.1 adds enhanced font rendering for modern LCDs with Windows-style LCD subpixel rendering. User interface enhancements in version 2.1 include controls for combo box, stacked chart, and applicationwide menu bar.

Oracle also is announcing a public early access for JavaFX Scene Builder, a visual layout tool that enables designing of UI screens by dragging and positioning UI components from a palette onto a scene. JavaFX is available for Windows and Mac OS X, while a developer preview for Linux also is being offered

 Oracle on Thursday is releasing updates to the standard edition ofJava and the JavaFX rich client application platform, including the first delivery of the Java Development Kit and JavaFX Software Development Kit for Mac OS X. The latest enhancements for Java garbage collection and the Java Virtual Machine are featured as well.

The company is making available Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) 7 Update 4 and JavaFX 2.1. Java developers, Oracle said, can download Oracle's JDK, which includes the JavaFX SDK for MacOS X from the Oracle Technology Network. Java SE 7 Update 4 and JavaFX 2.1 run on Windows, too. The company plans to release a consumer version of Java SE 7, complete with the Java Runtime Environment, for Mac OS X later this…….

The OpenJDK Community, Oracle said, hosts development of Java SE 7 on Mac OS X and JDK 8, which is the prototype reference implementation of Java SE 8. Oracle has started the OpenJFX project as part of its plan to open-source the JavaFX platform.