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What java version is more stable/safe to be used in new projects, 6 or 7? I noticed both of them have had security fixes last months.

Thanks

wrenzi
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    Its your project, you will better know wht your projects needs. Stability wont be a criteria as java will not release unstable version :) – Lokesh Jul 16 '13 at 16:06
  • the only issue I've founf belong to Java 7 since now, it's font anti-aliasing, and everything is good, and since Java6 has no update then, you have to choose 7 :D –  Jul 16 '13 at 16:07
  • But is there major probability to find more security bugs in java 7 than 6 or the probability is the same for both? – wrenzi Jul 16 '13 at 16:13
  • Rondon, have you found a bug? If there is a bug, Oracle will fix it in java 7, but not in java 6. – Sotirios Delimanolis Jul 16 '13 at 16:14
  • @loki: I understand what you said, thanks. – wrenzi Jul 16 '13 at 16:22

1 Answers1

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Java 6 is EOF (End Of Life) and is not getting any other update and security fixes since February 2013. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/eol-135779.html

Java 7 is the way to go unless you have technical constraints.

namero999
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    Java 6 is end of life?? SO nobody shld use java 6? – Lokesh Jul 16 '13 at 16:06
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    I didn't say that. But if I started a new project today, I wouldn't use a zombie product unless I have reasonable technical constraints to do so. And Java 7 is been around enough to be considered stable. – namero999 Jul 16 '13 at 16:08
  • My frnd not releasing more updates doesn't mean end of life. It means more features will be added in next release. So its a matter of choice, if i dont need anything new than what java 6 has, then do i need to use java 7? I dont think so. – Lokesh Jul 16 '13 at 16:10
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    -1: There are products that run on Java 1.4.2 that's almost 10 years old. This is a primarily opinion question, that should not be directly answered. For more info, refer to FAQ: *Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise*. – Luiggi Mendoza Jul 16 '13 at 16:12
  • For the record, I prefer to write apps in Java 6 and give the big jump to Java 8 when it comes instead of using Java 7 that doesn't add something significative for the applications I develop. – Luiggi Mendoza Jul 16 '13 at 16:13
  • @loki Here EOL == End of public updates where java 6 will not get anything new. If you use java 6 and someone finds an exploit for java 6, you will be in trouble. – Sotirios Delimanolis Jul 16 '13 at 16:13
  • @LuiggiMendoza That's because they are 10 years old. If you read the question, the OP is asking about what to use to start a project today. You recommend 1.4.2? – namero999 Jul 16 '13 at 16:13
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    @namero999 I will recommend knowing what kind of application will be: Desktop, Mobile, Web application. If desktop, it could be Java 7, if mobile, it will depend on the platform (AFAIK blackberry supports Java 1.4 til now and Android only supports Java 6), if Web, depends on the server to use (Tomcat 5 and 6 works good with Java 6 but not with 7). Also, there are more things to take into consideration before deciding this. – Luiggi Mendoza Jul 16 '13 at 16:16
  • Last note: the latest thing is not always the best to use. – Luiggi Mendoza Jul 16 '13 at 16:16
  • @LuiggiMendoza He does say _unless you have technical constraints._ – Sotirios Delimanolis Jul 16 '13 at 16:16
  • @SotiriosDelimanolis That's not a direct answer, just based on a simple opinion instead of knowledge basis. Note that that comment is too wide open. It means that *since I know nothing more to say, I'll just leave it open to your needs*. – Luiggi Mendoza Jul 16 '13 at 16:18
  • @SotiriosDelimanolis: Your point is valid, but as Luiggi Mendoza pointed out application keep running on old versions for years. It is very difficult for any product to change java version because of EOL becuase of product stability being at stake. Also each java version is given time to stabilise, so your scenario will be very rare one and would be at low priority while deciding the version. – Lokesh Jul 16 '13 at 16:18
  • @LuiggiMendoza That's why I said unless you have reasonable technical constraits. If you need your thing to run onto something that only supports 6 you don't have a choice. But if you can decide beetween the two, you have to weight in the updates (no updates vs updates till 2015). It's a fact. – namero999 Jul 16 '13 at 16:19
  • That's not what I understand from your answer. Note that the comment leads to *what kind of technical constraints could I have?*. This answer should be a comment rather than an answer since is your opinion (that shows lack of knowledge, by the way). – Luiggi Mendoza Jul 16 '13 at 16:23
  • @LuiggiMendoza don't worry, if you don't understand, that doesn't mean that other won't too. _what kind of technical constraints could I have_ is another question that it's not meant to be answered here, and it will be marked as 'overly broad', btw. I didn't express any knowledge, only reported facts (that happen to be true, as java 6 is not getting updates as long as you don't have a contract with Oracle). – namero999 Jul 16 '13 at 17:00