2) Why does this default to the non-current version of Java?
My guess: expectations of backward compatibility. There are still a
lot of deployments, especially server-side, that aren't even running
1.4 yet.
If the build defaults to the current version, you get people asking
why the compiled jars won't run, throwing a class-file version
error. If the build defaults to an older version of Java, you get
people asking why source that uses a 1.4 or 1.5 feature won't compile
(no such method or class).
I don't know which one Apple gets more questions about, but it's
probably easier to fix the latter than the former. This is simply
because the jar compiled for a newer version won't fail until it runs
on the older JRE, which may be far distant in time or space. When
that problem occurs, it may be much harder to correct than the
problem of source that won't compile.
One way or the other, it still boils down to misplaced expectations.
With an overt 'source' and 'target' in build.xml, at least you can
SEE what to expect. If it just silently used "the current version",
whatever that is, it's harder to guess what to expect.
-- GG
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