WebLogic Type 4 Driver for Oracle is now deprecated
As of WebLogic Server 10gR3, the Type 4 driver for Oracle looks to be deprecated. "Deprecated" means that Oracle|BEA will no longer provide proactive support for the product nor new features. Only security related problem will be fixed and customers are encouraged to migrate to other JDBC drivers(i.e. Oracle Thin Driver).
・The Oracle Driver (Deprecated)
・Using WebLogic Type 4 JDBC Drivers
WebLogic Type 4 driver is an yet another JDBC driver which has been provided by BEA since WLS8.1, and it is actually OEMed by DataDirect. The main focus of the driver is performance and it performs much better than the Oracle's thin driver in many cases. But unfortunately the driver has been immature for long time and sometimes it behaves wrongly. I also strongly suggest using Oracle's Thin driver which is proven to work well.
Customers who wish to continue using the Type 4 driver for some reason can buy an identical driver separately from DataDirect after it's retirement.
Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 2
According to TUAW, Apple has released Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 2.
It's always suggested to keep your JDK versions up-to-date and I applied the update, confirmed that this package provides JDK1.4.2_18, 1.5.0_16, 1.6.0_07.
Here are the java -version outputs:
java version "1.4.2_18"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2_18-b08-314)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.2-90, mixed mode)
$ /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5.0/Home/bin/java -version
java version "1.5.0_16"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_16-b06-284)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_16-133, mixed mode, sharing)
$ /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Home/bin/java -version
java version "1.6.0_07"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_07-b06-153)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 1.6.0_07-b06-57, mixed mode)
which used to be:
java version "1.4.2_16"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2_16-b05-302)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.2-85, mixed mode)
$ java -version
java version "1.5.0_13"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_13-b05-237)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_13-119, mixed mode, sharing)
$ /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Home/bin/java -version
java version "1.6.0_05"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_05-b13-120)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 1.6.0_05-b13-52, mixed mode)