Oracle will change the release numbering for scheduled Java SE releases.

With the recent increase of security releases we have been skipping numbers and have already had to renumber releases 1 . To avoid confusion caused by renumbering releases, we are adopting a new numbering scheme.

Overview

Since the initial release of JDK 5.0, Java update releases have either been Limited Update releases that include new functionality and non-security fixes or Critical Patch Updates (CPUs) that only include fixes for security vulnerabilities. We will continue releasing Limited Update and CPU Java releases, however we are changing the frequency and way in which these releases are numbered:

Limited Update releases will be numbered in multiples of 20.

We intend for Critical Patch Updates to continue to use odd numbers. The numbers will be calculated by adding multiples of five to the prior Limited Update and when needed adding one to keep the resulting number odd.

This is best illustrated with an example:

The next Limited Update for JDK 7 will be numbered 7u40, and the next 3 CPUs after that will be numbered 7u45, 7u51, and 7u55. The next release will be a Limited Update 7u60, followed by CPUs 7u65, 7u71, and 7u75.

This numbering scheme will leave several numbers between releases which will allow us to insert releases – for example security alerts or support releases, should that become necessary - without having to renumber later releases.

Updated May 2016

Between the critical update releases of January and April of 2016 we released two critical patch updates. As one of the releases, JDK 8, included a Critical Patch Update (CPU) and a Patch Set Update (PSU), and given our intention of having Critical Patch Updates be odd numbers, we were forced to re-number subsequent releases. To avoid further renumbering we have updated the numbering scheme to add multiples of ten instead of multiples of five to future versions.