The Java Development Kit 7 Update 21 (JDK 7u21) release, which includes JavaFX 2.2.21, is now live. You can download it from the Java SE Downloads page.
For information about this release, see the JDK 7u21 Release Notes, and the JavaFX 2.2.21 Release Notes.
With 7u21, it is recommended that all applications be signed, and it is possible to restrict signed applications to the security sandbox. Therefore, the use of "unsigned" to mean an application that ran in the security sandbox and "signed" to mean an application that ran with extended permissions, is no longer meaningful. The terminology in the Java Tutorials and the Java SE Guides has been changed to use "sandbox application" for applications that are restricted to the security sandbox, and "privileged application" for applications that have extended permissions.
In addition, the Java Tutorials contain the following changes:
With 7u21, users are prompted for permission to run applets and Java Web Start applications, called Rich Internet Applications or RIAs. The prompts contain information to help users make a more informed decision about whether to run an RIA. See User Acceptance of RIAs for more information.
Signed applets can be restricted to the security sandbox by using the permissions attribute for the <applet> or <object> element when the applet is invoked. See Deploying with the Applet Tag for more information.
Signing RIAs with a certificate from a trusted certificate authority is recommended, so Deploying an Applet and Deploying a Java Web Start Application include a step for signing the JAR file.
JavaScript code that calls code within an applet that has permission to run outside the security sandbox is treated as mixed code, which could cause additional warnings to be shown to the user. See Invoking Applet Methods From JavaScript Code for information.
The Java Rich Internet Applications Development and Deployment Guide, including the Deployment ebook (both MOBI and EPUB formats), contains the following changes:
The Security Level setting in the Java Control Panel can be used to automatically block some types of RIAs. The default setting of High permits all but local applets to run on a secure JRE. If the user is running an insecure JRE, only RIAs that are signed with a certificate issued by a recognized certificate authority are allowed to run. See Security for information.
Screen shots and other information about the Java Control Panel have been updated. See Java Control Panel for information.
The Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) Guide contains information on the java.rmi.server.useCodebaseOnly property, which is now set to true by default. See RMI Enhancements for information.
Deploying JavaFX Applications contains changes related to the policy of signing applications and working with applications that are restricted to the security sandbox or have extended permissions.
JDK 8 Updates
As part of the ongoing Project Lambda work for Java SE 8, there is a new page on Method References that includes a new MethodReferencesTest.java example (which requires the early access release of JDK 8 with Lambda support to compile).
Another feature coming to Java SE 8 is the ability to invoke methods that use the fork/join framework to sort arrays in parallel. The Arrays and Fork/Join pages have been updated with information on manipulating arrays.
For all tutorials, guides, and API documentation, see Java SE Technical Documentation and JavaFX 2 Documentation
.