After making a fresh install of Windows I am now faced with installing the Java RE. But i see there is a new version (7) available while version 6 is still maintained.
What version should I install? Is 7 backwards compatible with 6 (will my javabased programs like Eclipse etc. work with it?)
I can't really find any information about what the difference is between the versions from a consumers perspective.
Oracle doesn't provide very much information about it - while it should be safe to assume Java 7 is backward-compatible, the fact that Java 7 isn't yet the default download indicates it's still in some sort of beta state.
Indeed, Oracle states it's still being tested by developers before it's ready to be "unleashed upon the masses".
The choice is really yours, but for the sake of simplicity I recommend getting the current 1.6.0_29 (JRE 6) version.
Glad to hear the lack of information is not (just) a result of my poor googling. lol
Thanks, I'll stay on the safe side with 6.29.
I tried Java 7 and 7u1 and had issues with one of my installed programs, Tripplite PowerAlert.
Java 6 update 29 works fine.
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