Oracle releases Java SE 7 bringing first-class support to OS X and Linux on ARM.

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Oracle announced on Tuesday that it will start offering direct downloads and auto-updates to Java on OS X beginning with the release of Java Standard Edition 7 Update 6. Users can download the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) directly from Oracle's java.com website "soon," according to Oracle, and will receive auto-updates at the same time as Windows, Linux, and Solaris platforms. The update also fully integrates the JavaFX 2.2 libraries, designed to make the development and deployment of desktop applications easier and faster, and adds OS X support for a new JavaFX user interface development tool.
Oracle is also expanding its support for Linux as well. Java SE 7 Update 6 adds support for Linux on ARM, "to address 'general purpose”' ARM systems, such as those used for the emerging micro-server ARM market, and for development platforms such as Raspberry Pi." JavaFX 2.2 also fully supports Linux on x86 and x64 platforms.
The latest release of Java SE 7 now makes OS X a fully supported platform. That includes the JRE, which end users install to run Java-based applications; the JDK, which developers use to develop Java applications; and the JavaFX "rich client platform," used to develop GUI desktop applications. Oracle is also releasing an OS X version of its new JavaFX Scene Builder, which allows developers to build user interfaces using drag-and-drop components (similar to Xcode or Visual Studio).
Apple's continuing inability to stay on top of updating Java resulted in the most widely exploited vulnerability in OS X to date: a quick-spreading trojan known as Flashback. The malware infected over half a million un-patched Macs at its pinnacle, though Apple quickly released patches and a removal tool after news of Flashback became public.
Apple has since effectively ceded responsibility for Java to Oracle, which had begun taking over support of Java on OS X with the release of Java SE 7 Update 4 in April. Apple has still distributed its own updates to Java, releasing critical security patches in concert with Oracle, though it appears end users will be getting updates from Oracle from now on.
"Oracle continues to expand our support for the Java platform, and now, for the first time, consumers and developers have access to the latest Java SE features and security updates across all major operating systems: Windows, Linux, Solaris, and Mac OS X," Hasan Rizvi, senior vice president of Oracle Fusion Middleware and Java Products, said in a statement. "We're also focused on improving the client Java experience with the release of JavaFX Scene Builder and bundling JavaFX with Java SE to provide better performance and improved usability for JavaFX applications, without having to install and maintain a separate product."