I’m pleased to announce that Java 6.0 Update 2 has been certified with Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.

Sun Java SE Download page screenshot: Screenshot of Sun Java SE download page


A Rose by Any Other Name

Before
getting into the details about this new certification, it’s unavoidable
that I spend some time on terminology.  Apparently, the latest iteration of the full name of this product family delivered by Sun Microsystems is:
  • Sun Java Platform, Standard Edition 6
  • Short form:  Java SE 6
The full name of the specific product within this family that we require for E-Business Suite application tier servers is:
  • Java Standard Edition Development Kit 6
  • Short form:  JDK 6
This
release version is called JDK 6, 1.6, or 1.6.0.  All three version
numbers are equivalent to each other.  When the base release is
updated, the version number looks like one of the following (which are
all equivalent): 
  • JDK 6 Update 2
  • JDK 6u2
  • 1.6.0_2
The previous release was Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition 5.0, with the short form being J2SE 5.0.  Other related terms equated over the years with this product family are Java SE Development Kit (JDK), and Java 2 Enterprise Edition Software Development Kit (J2SDK). 

For simplicity, for the remainder of this article (and in our official certification documentation), we’ll use the term JDK 6.

What’s New?

E-Business Suite Release 12.0.0 to 12.0.4 are delivered with:
  • Java SE Development Kit (JDK) Version 5.0 Update 8 for the application tier
  • Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) Version 1.5 Update 8 for AutoConfig running on the database tier 
With this latest certification, all Release 12 environments may be upgraded to Java 6, formally known as:
  • Java SE Development Kit (JDK) Version 6.0 Update 2
Why Bother Upgrading?

Along with Oracle Forms, Java lies at the heart of the Oracle
E-Business Suite.  Small improvements in Java can have significant
effects on the performance and stability of the E-Business Suite.  As a
notable side-benefit, later versions of Java have improved built-in and
third-party tools for JVM performance monitoring and tuning.

Our standing recommendation is that you always stay current with the latest available Java update provided by your operating system vendor. 

Due to issues found with earlier updates of JDK 6.0, we recommend against using any Java 6 releases prior to JDK 1.6.0_02 with the E-Business Suite Release 12.

Prerequisites
It’s important to note that OracleAS 10.1.3.3.0 is a mandatory
prerequisite if you plan to upgrade your Release 12 application tier to
the latest certified version of Java 6.

Documentation
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