Oracle has released Java SE 8 and the corresponding Java Development Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE). What you have web applications that still require Java 6? Time to put some pressure on the vendors or developers.
If you visit Java.com, version 7u51 is still the provided version. Java 8 had been available as a developer preview back in September and a final release candidate in January. Yesterday, Oracle released Java 8 to general availability. You can download JDK 8 and JRE 8 from Oracle.com.
Despite the full availability of Java 8, Oracle will be holding a launch webcast on March 25th. A look at the new features and enhancements in Java 8 is one section on the agenda.
The release notes for JDK 8 cover what’s new, known issues, a compatibility guide, and more. The What’s New section covers changes to the Java programming language such as Lambda Expressions and other changes, Collections, compact profiles, security, JavaFX, and tools.
JRE 8 is set to expire May 15th, 2014, so we should have a newer update with only a couple of months.