Oracle recently announced the general availability of Java SE 9 (JDK 9), Java Platform Enterprise Edition 8 (Java EE 8), and the Java EE 8 Software Development Kit (SDK). Things are definitely changing in the Java world.
After this release, there will be two Java feature releases per year. The new Java versions come with many features, including a new module system geared for providing more scalability, improved security, better performance management and easier development of the world’s most popular programming platform. Another important development worth mentioning is that Java EE 8 is moving to the Eclipse Foundation and most likely will have a new name.
Java SE 9
Java SE 9 comes with more than 150 new features. The highlight, however, of Java SE 9 is the Java Platform Module System aka Project Jigsaw, designed for developers for easy and reliable assembly and maintenance of sophisticated applications. The module system is key to making JDK more flexible which means developers can bundle just those parts of the JDK that are needed to run an application when deploying to the cloud.
“This version of Java SE will provide millions of developers the updated tools they need to continue building next-generation applications with ease, performance, and agility,” said Georges Saab, vice president of development for the Java Platform Group at Oracle.
Java SE 9 includes:
• Jshell: delivers an interactive Read-Eval-Print-Loop for developers for easy exploration of APIs and language features.
• Improved Javadoc with a search function within the API documentation to allow developers to learn new APIs as well as information on which module defines each class or interface.
• Streams API enhancements: Now it possible to conditionally take/drop items from a Stream, iterate over a Stream’s elements, and create a Stream from a nullable value while expanding the set of Java SE APIs that can serve as sources for Streams.
Post – Java 9 plans: Oracle has also announced several changes to how Java SE and Java EE will be developed and released going forward. They will focus on not just an improved APIs but also language and JVM features. Feature releases will ship in March and September of each year, starting in March of 2018.
