Sun's posted the second beta release of Java 6 Mustang for Windows, Solaris, and Linux. (Apple publishes their opwn version based on this code.) This release is "feature complete." According to Sun, highlights include
New Security features and enhancements:
- Native platform GSS/Kerberos integration
- Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) login module that employs LDAP authentication
- New Smart Card I/O API
Integrated Web Services:
- New API for XML digital signature services for secure web services
- New Client and Core Java Architecture for XML-Web Services (JAX-WS) 2.0 APIs
- New support for Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) 2.0
Enhanced Management & Serviceability:
- Improved JMX Monitoring API
- Runtime Support for dTrace (Solaris 10 and future Solaris OS releases only)
- New custom deployment facilities
Increased Developer Productivity:
- Improved memory usage analysis and leak detection
- Significant library improvements
- Improvements to the Java Platform Debug Architecture (JPDA) & JVM Tool Interface
Improved User Experience:
- Look and feel updates to better match underlying platforms
- Improved desktop performance and integration
- Enhanced internationalization support