Oracle has released a new update for Java 8, but this update has an interesting wrinkle. Oracle has put out a new build of Java 8, but didn’t bump the version number from Java 8 Update 31. So folks who had previously installed Java 8 Update 31 may receive a message to update to Java 8 Update 31 from their current version, which will also be Java 8 Update 31.
This may lead to some confusion.
Build numbers for the two Java 8 Update 31 releases
January’s Java 8 Update 31 (released on January 20, 2015): Java 8 Update 31 build 13
February’s Java 8 Update 31 (released on February 10, 2015): Java 8 Update 31 build 15
If you have Java 8 Update 31 installed, you can find out which build you have by running the following command in Terminal:
defaults read /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Info.plist CFBundleVersion
If you have Java 8 Update 31 build 13, the following string will be returned:
1.8.31.13
If you have Java 8 Update 31 build 15, the following string will be returned:
1.8.31.15
Following installation of Java 8 Update 31 build 15, I tested on a 10.10.2 Mac against the following sites:
My work’s Juniper VPN
Oracle’s Java Test page: https://www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml
Java Tester’s Java Version page: http://javatester.org/version.html
In all three cases, the Java applets on those sites launched and worked without issue using Java 8 Update 31 build 15 (though the javatester.org applet needed to be whitelisted.)
