The Eclipse Foundation has announced the release of GlassFish 7.0.21, the latest version of its enterprise Java application server. This update focuses on squashing several persistent bugs and enhancing the administrative experience, making it a significant improvement over its predecessors.

Available for download from glassfish.org, GlassFish 7.0.21 was introduced on January 3 and implements the Jakarta EE 10 enterprise Java specification. According to the Eclipse GlassFish release notes, this release is "all about hunting down a few nasty bugs reported by GlassFish users." These bugs included issues such as restarts hanging on fast machines, random 403 responses for authenticated sessions, and Faces UI components failing to initialize on GlassFish embedded.

The Eclipse team has worked diligently to resolve these issues, and the release notes proudly declare that "after a lot of research and a lot of work, we were able to squash them all." This is a significant achievement, as these bugs had been causing frustration for GlassFish users.

In addition to bug fixes, GlassFish 7.0.21 also brings several enhancements to improve the administrative experience. For instance, the connection pool lookup messages have been improved, and error messages on deploying apps larger than the upload size limit in Admin Console have been enhanced. Furthermore, GlassFish now suppresses internal processing output when executing asadmin create-local-instance.

From a technical standpoint, GlassFish 7.0.21 contains Jakarta 10 APIs and runs on Java versions from JDK 11 to JDK 23. MicroProfile support requires JDK 17 or higher. Notably, GlassFish 7.0.21 disables TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 by default, a security-focused move. The release also includes maintenance enhancements, such as a redesign of the kernel events dispatching facility, which improves kernel events dispatching performance.

The release of GlassFish 7.0.21 demonstrates the Eclipse Foundation's commitment to continually improving its Java application server. By addressing long-standing issues and enhancing the administrative experience, GlassFish 7.0.21 is poised to provide a more reliable and efficient platform for developers and enterprises alike.

In the broader context, this release underscores the importance of ongoing maintenance and improvement in the world of enterprise software. As technology continues to evolve, it is essential for developers and organizations to prioritize the reliability and security of their tools and platforms. The Eclipse Foundation's efforts with GlassFish 7.0.21 serve as a testament to this commitment.