I remember when Sun released JDK 1.08. It was dubbed the “classic” version. After a few years of feedback from developers, Sun made some meaningful changes and additions and released the JDK 1.1. The release was given the nickname of Java SE 2. Obviously the 0.02 increment in the version number is a little misleading. A few years later, Sun released version 1.5. Once again the industry judged the changes more significant than the version indicated so they dubbed it Java 5. It happened again. The release of version1.6 is called Java SE 6. The following is a list of some of the notable additions and changes:

1. Web Services:
   Developers will find better support for writing Web Service clients. They can expose APIs that are interoperable with .NET using a simple annotation. It also adds new parsing and XML capabilities to Java object-mapping, previously only available in Java EE or the Java Web Services Pack.
2. Scripting::
   Developers can mix in JavaScript. Useful for prototyping and teams with varying skill sets. Advanced developers can plug in their own scripting engines and use their favorite scripting language with Java code as they see fit.
3. Database:
   The Java SE 6 development kit – but not in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) – bundles the Java JDBC database (based on Apache Derby). Developers will also get JDBC 4.0 offering many improvements, such as support for XML as a SQL datatype and better integration of Binary Large OBjects (BLOBs) and Character Large OBjects (CLOBs) into the API.
4. Desktop Deployment:
   Applications deployed to the desktop will benefit from a number of changes that enhance OS access: better look-and-feel in Swing technology, LCD text rendering, and better performance overall. Java applications integrate better with the native platform with access to the platform’s System Tray and Start menu. Java SE 6 unifies the Java Plug-in technology and Java WebStart engines. Additionally, Java WebStart intallation got a needed makeover.
5. More Desktop APIs:
   GUI developers get a few new items: SwingWorker streamlines threading, JTable offers sorting and filtering, and a facility for creating splash screens.
6. Monitoring and Management:
   Developers don’t have to do anything special to attach the monitoring and management tools. Java SE 6 adds more diagnostic information, and bundles the memory-heap analysis tool Jhat for core dump analysis.
7. Compiler Access:
   The compiler API opens up programmatic access to javac for in-process compilation of dynamically generated Java code. It is not intended for the everyday developer, but it’s sure to improved Java frameworks development and implementation in general.
8. Pluggable Annotations:
   For every feature missing in Java, an annotation can solve the problem. Java tool and framework vendors can define custom annotations that support plug-ins and processes.
9. Security:
   This release adds a few more security features:
   • XML-Digital Signature (XML-DSIG) APIs for creating and manipulating digital signatures
   • Simplified security administration via new access to platform-native security services, such as native Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and cryptographic services on Microsoft Windows
   • Java Generic Security Services (Java GSS) and Kerberos services for authentication
   • Access to LDAP servers for authenticating users
10. Quality, Compatibility, Stability:
    Sun has done regular releases of Java SE for years and built a massive set of test cases in the process. Additionally, people have been downloading binary snapshots for over 20 months prior to the beta release filing their bug reports, areas of irritation, compliance issues, etc. This extensive testing has fixed a number of quality and regression issues well in advance of general release. Most notable is better performance than J2SE 5.0.

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