Java version history

Release table

JDK 1.0

• core language features
• support for graphics
• support for creating a Java applet
• libraries for I/O and networking

  JDK 1.1

• extensive retooling of the Abstract Window Toolkit event model
• inner classes added to the language
• JavaBeans
• Java Database Connectivity and support for sql
• Java remote method invocation and serialization
• reflection which supported Introspection only, no modification at runtime was possible.
• Just-in-time compilation on Microsoft Windows platforms, produced for JavaSoft by Symantec
• Internationalization and Unicode support originating from Taligent

  J2SE 1.2

• strictfp keyword
• The Swing graphical API was integrated into the core classes.
• Sun's JVM was equipped with a JIT compiler for the first time.
• Java plug-in
• Java IDL, an IDL implementation for CORBA interoperability
• Collections framework

  J2SE 1.3

• HotSpot JVM included
• RMI was modified to support optional compatibility with CORBA.
• Java Naming and Directory Interface included in core libraries
• Java Platform Debugger Architecture
• JavaSound
• Synthetic proxy classes

J2SE 1.4

• Language changes
• * assert keyword
• Library improvements
• * Regular expressions modeled after Perl regular expressions
• * Exception chaining allows an exception to encapsulate original lower-level exception
• * Internet Protocol version 6 support
• * Non-blocking I/O
• * Logging API
• * Image I/O API for reading and writing images in formats like JPEG and PNG
• * Integrated XML parser and XSLT processor
• * Integrated security and cryptography extensions
• * Java Web Start included
• * Preferences API

Java SE 5

• Generics: provides compile-time type safety for collections and eliminates the need for most typecasts
• Metadata: also called annotations; allows language constructs such as classes and methods to be tagged with additional data, which can then be processed by metadata-aware utilities
• Autoboxing/unboxing: automatic conversions between primitive types and primitive wrapper classes
• Enumerations: the enum keyword creates a typesafe, ordered list of values ; previously this could only be achieved by non-typesafe constant integers or manually constructed classes
• Varargs: the last parameter of a method can now be declared using a type name followed by three dots ; in the calling code any number of parameters of that type can be used and they are then placed in an array to be passed to the method, or alternatively the calling code can pass an array of that type
• Enhanced for each loop: the for loop syntax is extended with special syntax for iterating over each member of either an array or any, such as the standard classes
• Improved semantics of execution for multi-threaded Java programs; the new Java memory model addresses issues of complexity, effectiveness, and performance of previous specifications
• Static imports

• Automatic stub generation for RMI objects
• Swing: New skinnable look and feel, called synth
• The in package
• Scanner class for parsing data from various input streams and buffers

Versioning change

Java SE 6

• Support for older Win9x versions dropped; unofficially, Java 6 Update 7 was the last release of Java shown to work on these versions of Windows. This is believed to be due to the major changes in Update 10.
• Scripting Language Support : Generic API for tight integration with scripting languages, and built-in Mozilla JavaScript Rhino integration.
• Dramatic performance improvements for the core platform, and Swing.
• Improved Web Service support through JAX-WS.
• JDBC 4.0 support.
• Java Compiler API : an API allowing a Java program to select and invoke a Java Compiler programmatically.
• Upgrade of JAXB to version 2.0: Including integration of a StAX parser.
• Support for pluggable annotations.
• Many GUI improvements, such as integration of SwingWorker in the API, table sorting and filtering, and true Swing double-buffering.
• JVM improvements include: synchronization and compiler performance optimizations, new algorithms and upgrades to existing garbage collection algorithms, and application start-up performance.

Java 6 updates