Java EE or Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (formerly J2EE - Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition) is a group of specifications for developing and deploying enterprise applications. Java EE is based on Java SE, plus enterprise features such as distributed computing and web services. Java EE is made of several well-known specifications (to name a few): Java Servlets, JSP, XML, JMS, JTA, JPA, JavaMail…

This article gives you a list of major Java EE versions throughout its history. In the table below, each Java EE version requires minimum version of Java SE (specified in the third column):

 

Java EE Version	Release Time	Required Java SE version
J2EE 1.2	December 1999	J2SE 1.2
J2EE 1.3	September 2001	J2SE 1.3
J2EE 1.4	November 2003	J2SE 1.4
Java EE 5	May 2006	Java SE 5
Java EE 6	December 2009	Java SE 6
Java EE 7	May 2013	Java SE 7
Java EE 8	August 2017	Java SE 8

 

NOTES: in September 2017, Oracle corporation donated Java EE to the Eclipse Foundation, without “Java” trademark. That means the platform is now managed by the Eclipse Foundation under the new name Jakarta EE. You can also check Jakarta EE versions on this page.

 

Important Changes in Java EE Versions

Java EE (Enterprise Edition) has undergone several major releases, each bringing important changes and enhancements to the platform. Here’s a summary of the key changes across the major Java EE versions:

 

J2EE 1.2 (1999)

• Initial Release: This was the first version of the J2EE platform, introducing the concept of enterprise Java.
• Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) 1.0: Provided a framework for building distributed, server-side components.
• Servlet 2.2: Enhanced support for web-based applications with a standardized API for creating servlets.
• JavaServer Pages (JSP) 1.1: Introduced to simplify the creation of dynamic web content with a page-centric approach.

J2EE 1.3 (2001)

• EJB 2.0: Introduction of Message-Driven Beans (MDBs) for asynchronous messaging and enhancements to the CMP (Container-Managed Persistence) model.
• Java Message Service (JMS) 1.0.2: Standardized API for messaging between different components of a distributed application.
• Java Connector Architecture (JCA) 1.0: Introduced to integrate J2EE applications with enterprise information systems like ERP and CRM.
• Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS): Integrated as a standard part of the platform for user authentication and authorization.

J2EE 1.4 (2003)

• Web Services Support: Major focus on web services with the introduction of APIs like JAX-RPC (Java API for XML-Based RPC), SAAJ (SOAP with Attachments API for Java), and JAXR (Java API for XML Registries).
• EJB 2.1: Enhanced to better support web services, including adding support for asynchronous web service endpoints.
• Servlet 2.4 and JSP 2.0: These specifications were updated to provide better integration with other parts of the J2EE stack, including web services.
• JMS 1.1: Simplified the API and provided better integration with other J2EE components.

 

Java EE 5 (2006)

• Introduction of EJB 3.0: Significant simplification of the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) model, including the use of annotations (POJO-based development) instead of XML configuration.
• Java Persistence API (JPA): A new API for object-relational mapping and managing persistent data in applications.
• JavaServer Faces (JSF) 1.2: Enhancements for building component-based user interfaces for web applications.
• Web Services Enhancements: Introduction of JAX-WS (Java API for XML Web Services) as a replacement for JAX-RPC.

Java EE 6 (2009)

• Profiles: Introduction of the Web Profile, a subset of the Java EE platform targeting web applications.
• Contexts and Dependency Injection (CDI) 1.0: A powerful set of services that enhance the injection of services and management of lifecycle events.
• Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) 3.1: Further simplifications, including EJB Lite, making EJBs easier to use in simpler applications.
• Java API for RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS) 1.1: A standardized API for building RESTful web services.
• Bean Validation (JSR 303): Standardization of bean validation within the Java EE environment.

Java EE 7 (2013)

• WebSocket API: Support for full-duplex communication between clients and servers.
• Batch Processing API (JSR 352): Introduction of a batch processing model for managing large volumes of data.
• Concurrency Utilities for Java EE (JSR 236): Integration of concurrency utilities, providing managed threads in the Java EE environment.
• CDI 1.1: Expanded and enhanced dependency injection features.
• Java API for JSON Processing (JSR 353): Standard API for parsing and generating JSON.
• JAX-RS 2.0: Introduction of asynchronous processing, filters, and interceptors in RESTful services.

Java EE 8 (2017)

• Java API for JSON Binding (JSON-B) 1.0: A new API for binding Java objects to JSON and vice versa.
• Servlet 4.0: Support for HTTP/2, offering better performance and more efficient use of network resources.
• JAX-RS 2.1: Further enhancements including support for Server-Sent Events (SSE).
• CDI 2.0: Improved support for Java SE environments and new features for dependency injection.
• Security API (JSR 375): Introduction of a new security API for modern security mechanisms.

 

More about Java EE:

• What is Java EE / Jakarta EE?
• Java EE at a Glance
• Java EE 8 Documentation
• Java EE 8 API Docs

 

Learn about Java EE core technologies:

• Java Servlet Tutorials
• JavaServer Pages (JSP) Tutorials
• JavaMail Tutorials
• Java Web Services Tutorials