Quick update: Oracle has released Java 7 Update 40 (7u40) today and the new version is available in the WebUpd8 Java PPA, for Ubuntu and Debian users.
Oracle Java 7u40 introduces the following new features:
- Java Mission Control (JMC), an advanced monitoring and diagnostics tool inherited from JRockit is now fully supported on JDK 7. This is a commercial feature;
- Part of JMC, Java Flight Recorder enables you to record events and metrics during runtime and extract them at will;
- support for the Retina display with Swing/AWT and JavaFX;
- new JDK binary for hardfloat Linux/ARM, for ARM-based micro servers and development boards. With this, JDK 7 now officially supports the Rasbian Linux distribution (for Raspberry Pi);
- a new Deployment Rule Set feature to enable fine granular controls for execution of Applet and WebStart applications;
- security feature enhancements for applets, JAXP and x.509 certificates.
There's also a huge list of bug fixes.
For more information, see the Java SE Development Kit 7, Update 40 (JDK 7u40) release notes.
Ubuntu (and derivatives such as Linux Mint, etc.) 13.10, 13.04, 12.10, 12.04 and 10.04 users can install the latest Oracle JDK7 (7u40) by using the WebUpd8 Java PPA. Add the PPA and install Oracle JDK 7u40 by using the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-installerDebian users: see how to add the PPA and install Oracle JDK7 in Debian, HERE.
For more information, see: Install Oracle Java 7 in Ubuntu via PPA Repository.
As a reminder, the WebUpd8 Oracle Java PPA repository does not host any Java files but only an installer that automatically downloads and installs Oracle JDK, like the flashplugin-installer package for instance.
