Highlights of the release include a Web 2.0-based theme focused on Web services and scripting language support, as well as enterprise desktop features and diagnostics.

Web 2.0, an industry concept in which the Web becomes the applications platform, is enabled by support of multiple, non-Java-based scripting languages such as PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor). Web services boosts include support for Web services specifications such as JAX-WS 2.0 (Java API for XML Web Services) and JAXB 2.0 (Java Architecture for XML Binding). Publishing of Web services on Java SE 6 has been made easier as well.

"Now, we've got a whole Web services client stack built in the platform as well as new support for scripting languages," said Bill Curci, product marketing manager for Java SE at Sun.

The final, general release of Java SE 6 is due this fall. Java SE 6 will function with the upcoming Java Platform Enterprise Edition 5 (JEE 5) release. Features of Java SE 6 are expected to be incorporated into a version of JEE following the 5 version.

Diagnostics improvements in the release were cited by Curci. "There's some really neat extensions, I think, for developers and administrators coming into this version of the platform that are all about making the platform and application more observable," Curci said.  Specifically, an expanded Java management exchange API allows for dynamically attaching to a running application.