Oracle takes over Mac Java from Apple

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Jobs’ team has passed on the responsibility for future versions of the OpenJDK to Oracle.

Development

Apple is handing over control of its Java platform to Oracle, the companies have confirmed.

In what many see as Apple disassociating itself from Java, the Cupertino company has passed on Java SE 7 (standard edition) and any future releases of the OpenJDK (Java Development Kit) programme for the Mac operating system (OS) to Oracle.

However, Apple will remain in charge of Java SE 6 and continue to provide it for Mac OS X 10.6.

"We are excited to welcome Apple as a significant contributor in the growing OpenJDK community," said Hasan Rizvi, senior vice president of development at Oracle.

"The availability of Java on Mac OS X plays a key role in the cross-platform promise of the Java platform."

Rivzi also claimed Java developers could "rest assured" that Java would continue to be available on Macs.

Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, added: "The best way for our users to always have the most up to date and secure version of Java will be to get it directly from Oracle."

Jennifer Scott
Jennifer Scott

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.