Sun Updates Java SE 6 for Performance

Sun is updating Java for the first time this year providing fixes for over 300 bugs. While the total bug tally may seem high, the latest Java update more about enhancing features and performance than it is about security fixes.

That's because Java SE 6 Update 18 (also known as 6u18) does not include any security updates at allunlike its predecessor, Java SE 6 Update 17, which was released in November 2009 and included fixes for multiple vulnerabilities.

Still, that doesn't make the new updatewhich may turn out to be the last from Sun (NASDAQ: JAVA) before it is acquired by Oracleany less significant.

To Dave Hofert, senior group marketing manager for the Java Platform Group at Sun, the release marks a high-water mark for Java.

"Probably the largest improvement in this release is the performance work that we did for our virtual machine, called HotSpot," Hofert told InternetNews.com. "This helps improve performance for both Java and JavaFX applications."

"After that, we have improved the usability of the Java installer (we have replaced the underlying installer mechanism) and of Java Web Start applications," with a clearer progress bar, he said.