Is Java 1.6 the same as JDK 6?

Question

I\'m taking a computer science course and the syllabus says download java 1.6. I don\'t find a java 1.6, everything says JDK 6. When I googled java 1.6 I found this link:

Answer 1

Yes, Sun makes use of dual naming convention for the same thing. One naming convention if for the product and one is for the developer. The official documentation mentions:

Both version numbers (1.6.0 and 6) are used to identify this release of the Java Platform. Version 6 is the product version, while 1.6.0 is the developer version. The number 6 is used to reflect the evolving level of maturity, stability, scalability and security of Java SE.

See J2EE or JEE, Java 5 or Java 1.5 - Is SUN Crazy? for more on this madness.

Madness...? This is Sun!