Apple Updates to Java 1.4.1

A user writes, "Apple has caught up with the times and updated their Java to 1.4.1, bringing it completely up to date with the newest release from Sun. It now takes advantage of Aqua and Quartz Extreme, is usable via Universal Access, and can be controlled through AppleScript." It provides 1149 new classes over 1.3.1, a new native I/O API, updated XML tools (SAX 1.0/2.0, DOM 1.0/2.0, XSLT), I18N and L10N enhancements for Unicode 3.0, regexes, IPv6, faster loading of applets, improved caching, storing of certs in the Keychain, faster UI, more Aqua-like UI ... and native Java applet support for Safari.

Great

[sconest]

Time to try IDEA [intellij.com]

Documentation/Changelog/New futures

[jeneag]

Full release notes [sun.com] from Sun Microsystems on release 1.4.1, includes overview of changes and detailed description on many updated packages, etc.

Re:Best Java Apps?

[Pyrometer]

This has to be one of the best tools I have seen written in JAVA ... Poseidon UML from Gentleware [gentleware.com].

It is a little rough around the edges and really needs some fine tunning but runs like a dream on my PowerBook running on JAVA 1.3 no less. With any luck they will upgrade it to use the 1.4 code base they are already using for Windows and Linux clients. It is quite resource intensive, however on the Powerbook I don't notice that at all (just on the Windows development machine at work ~sigh~).

Browser bug is fixed

[matthew]

Just installed it and now I can finally scroll a web page with an embedded Java applet without leaving behind artifacts in the broswer window from the applet. The difference is obvious in a page like news.bbc.co.uk were the news ticker no longer corrupts the whole page view when scrolling.

Re:Limewire

[Anonymous Coward]

XNap works great. Always finds more files than Limewire. Get it at http://xnap.sf.net

You obviously don't know what you're talking about

[lordpixel]

Apple's 1.3 VM was DEFINATELY NOT CLI ONLY.
It had a perfectly reasonable AWT/Swing implementation which was derived from the old Mac OS 9 implementation and ran ontop of Carbon, which means it did have the Aqua look and feel and it did run ontop of Quartz.

You can just about make that out in this diagram: http://developer.apple.com/macosx/images/sysarch_s m.gif [apple.com]

Now, we can talk about reimplementing AWT/Swing ontop of Cocoa rather than the crufty 20 year old foundation that is Carbon - and probably we can agree its a great thing, but it sure did take a long time. Its definately not the case that this is the first release with an Aqua GUI though!

Re:Great

[The AtomicPunk]

Uhh.. guys? You've been able to use IDEA for eons, you just go to intellij.net and download an EAP for OS X.

Re:Best Java Apps?

[CharRooster]

"Useful" is a relative term but I use Thinkfree as my main Office suite. It is built on Java architecture.

Re:Best Java Apps?

[nilepoc]

My personal best Java app for OSX is DVArchive. It requires Java 1.4.1, for which I installed the beta 10 version yesterday. Arrghh!

Anyway, I am hoping that this will make DVArchive run even better.

A cool java text editor

[1155]

and my favorite, Arachnophilia [arachnoid.com], finally works on my mac! I am now happy again..

Well, that and my dos xx is right here as well :)

Java 1.4.1 Dev Tools Update is out also

[foyle]

The "Java 1.4.1 Developer Tools Update" available via https://connect.apple.com/ -- after you log in, it's under "Java" under "Download Software". There used to be "Recent Updates" section where they put stuff like this, but it seems to have gone missing.

What I really want to know is why it's 48.6mb for the dev tools on top of the 26mb (I didn't write it down, so I could be wrong) for Java 1.4.1 itself.

Gently, gently

[melquiades]

I don't think the parent post meant that Java for OS X run only from the command line (obviously it didn't), or that it didn't support Swing (well, duh, of course it did), but that support for these things was weak -- which was certainly true.

Mr. Cornelius is right that Java has been something of a second-class citizen on OS X. Java is privileged to be a real citizen of an OS at all -- on Linux it is a sort of visiting dignitary, and on Windows it is a sort of persecuted immigrant. But OS X Java wasn't perfect: Swing apps, while they looked great, definitely didn't run as smoothly as Carbon and Cocoa apps. Applet support was mostly good, but still spotty. Apps were slow, especially UIs and graphics in general. And, of course, Java was waaaay out of date.

The new version of Java is a huge leap forward in all these problems. With this newest release, it looks much more like a "first-class" citizen than it ever did before.

Re:Yay for me!

[tupps]

IIRC Apple has had the Java 1.4 beta on the ADC website since the start of the year, you could have got it from there.

Re:Java 1.4.1 Dev Tools Update is out also

[littlematt]

It mostly all the documentation that gets added to Project Builder that takes up the extra space, plus extra things like new versions of jikes to take advantage of 1.41, etc.

Re:Yay for me!

[2starr]

Java 1.5 is scheduled for release at the end of the year. I would expect to see a preview release or at least some serious info in June around JavaOne time.

Re:Best Java Apps?

[marmoset]

Freeguide [sourceforge.net] is pretty cool. It didn't run at all on OSX's old 1.31-based JVM (nor on some of the earlier 1.4 betas), but I'm running it right now on top of the new JVM.

Yeah But....

[seigel]

Yeah But it broke my blender!!!!!!! www.blender.org ..and this is on topic, blender is a 3d rendering tool that apparently used java to do its work on OSX

Cheers

Re:But...

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't look like it. Just tried and no dice. I wish someone would prove me wrong, please.

Re:Best Java Apps?

[Anonymous Coward]

crushftp found at http://crushftp.com/

Yes, it is

[90XDoubleSide]

Acq is a cocoa frontend to the LimeWire backend. Look at your Console sometime:

java version "1.4.1_01"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.1_01-39)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.1_01-14, mixed mode)

LimeWire(Acquisition)/0.8
LWMain A
SettingsManager: loadDefaults()
ConnectionManager initialize()

And so forth.

Re:Swing Look n Feel

[Anonymous Coward]

You need to specify the new Look And Feel class name. This used to be 'com.apple.mrj.swing.MacLookAndFeel',but now is 'apple.laf.AquaLookAndFeel'.

So from command line type: [Netbeans Home]/bin/runide.sh -jdkhome /Library/Java/Home -fontsize 12 -ui apple.laf.AquaLookAndFeel

Re:1.3 and 1.4.1?

[IvanXQZ]

While it is (mostly) true that Java 1.4.1 is backwards compatbile with 1.3.1, it is not true that Apple Java 1.4.1 is backwards compatible with Apple Java 1.3.1, which is why both remain present for end users as well as developers. To wit, QTJava is different, JDirect no longer exists, the com.apple.mrj.* API's have all been deprecated or outright removed, a number of the environment properties have changed, etc. (this stuff is all documented in the Release Notes [apple.com], which is required reading IMO). In addition, there are a very small number of incompatibilities between 1.3.1 and 1.4.1 in Sun Java itself, at least during compile time.

So if your 1.3.1 app uses any Mac-specific functions, you may need to rewrite them for 1.4.1 compatibility. However, if it is bundled as a Mac OS X app, it will (as stated above) get 1.3.1 by default, so end-users will have no problems with any existing applications (that's the Apple Way).

The rules for whether you get 1.3.1 or 1.4.1 are:

command line:
You get 1.4.1 by default. If you want 1.3, you need to execute:

/System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versio ns/1.3.1/Commands/java

(javac is in the same directory if you need the compiler or other tools)
btw I have no idea why there is a space in "Versions" above: if you see it, it shouldn't be there

double-clicked jar files:
You always get 1.4.1.

Mac OS X bundles:
You get 1.3.1 by default. How to specify 1.4.1 depends on whether the app was made with MRJAppBuilder (from the 1.3.1 Dev Tools) or Jar Bundler (from 1.4.1 Dev Tools). For MRJAppBuilder apps, add this line to YourApp.app/Contents/Resources/MRJApp.properties:

com.apple.mrj.application.JVMVersion=1.4*

For Jar Builder apps, in the YourApp.app/Contents/Info.plist file, in the Java section add a key called JVMVersion with a value of 1.4* (you can use the Property List Editor or a text editor).

All this and more is documented in the Release Notes.

Ivan.

Re:Limewire

[jode_sanders]

Limewire is NOT compatible with 1.4.x at the moment, so it will actually revert to the 1.3 java installation, which, incidentally, is kept on your machine. Once limewire releases a 1.4 version, THEN we'll see some great improvements.

Major Performance Increase

[HotButteredHampster]

I installed and ran a perfunctory test of the new Java Runtime last night. I then fired up Robocode [ibm.com]. I have a Powerbook G4 550, and in the past, I would see around 12 fps during the battles. With the new Java, I was seeing 24 fps consistently!

This is a great leap forward, IMHO.