Developers say Java 6 absent from new OS X

Early adopters of Apple's newly released OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system are unable to work with the latest version of the Java programming language.

Following the release of OS X Leopard on Friday evening, threads began to appear in Apple's support forum where numerous users reported that code written in Java 1.6 (also known as Java 6) failed to execute.

The problem allegedly lies in an outdated version of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), an application that allows OS X to interpret and run Java code. Java 1.6 was officially released in December 2006, but Leopard reportedly supports only Java 1.4.

Sun Microsystems, the company that oversees development of the Java language, has released Java 1.6 JVMs for Linux and Windows. The firm doesn't offer a JVM for OS X because Apple insist on developing it themselves, according to a Sun spokesperson.

Apple had previously allowed developers to use a beta version of a Java 1.6 JVM. However, that software has now reportedly been pulled from Apple's developer site.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

Users on Apple's support forums have been teeing off on the company over the incident.

"This is a show stopper for me, and I will have to revert to 10.4, since my job as a software engineer for Sun requires Java 6," wrote one user.

"This will likely prevent a lot of people from upgrading."

Users were further miffed when many of the threads about the issue were reportedly deleted from Apple's support forum without explanation.

In an article posted to the Javalobby developer site, blogger Michael Urban vowed to dump the Mac platform completely after the ordeal.

"Not only did Leopard not ship with Java 6, but Apple, in typical fashion, apparently thinks it has no obligation to its customers to inform them about why the plans changed, and when (or even if at this point?) Apple will ever have a working copy of Java 6," he wrote.

"Today I am saying 'so long Apple. The party's over'."