February 17, 2012, 10:39 AM — Oracle has extended by four months the end-of-life (EOL) time for Java Development Kit 6, to November 2012, the company said in a blog post this week.
JDK 6 is based on Java Platform, Standard Edition 6. The Java SE support roadmap reflects the updated timeline, according to the blog post, which was authored by someone identified as "Henrik (JRockit PM)." The EOL date, he said, "has been extended from July 2012 to November 2012, to allow some more time for the transition to JDK 7. We have also updated the EOL policy to clarify our intent for this, and future major releases."
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The EOL for public support and fixes for Java, the blog said, typically occurs:
- No earlier than three years after the general availability of a release.
- One year after the general availability of a subsequent major release.
- Six months after a subsequent major release has been established as the default Java Runtime Environment.
"This policy has been consistent through the history of Java. The JRE is free software, and as is the case with most free software, users are encouraged to adopt the latest stable version. For those who need longer support lifetimes, Oracle offers Java SE Support," the blog states. Java SE support is fee-based.
Oracle introduced JDK 7, based on Java SE 7, last summer. Java SE 6 was first released about five years earlier.
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