▚Intro
Hi everyone,
I'm nipafx (but you can call me Nicolai) and today it's gonna be you, me, and the first episode of the Inside Java Newscast. Here we cover recent developments in the JDK, drawing from JDK Enhancement Proposals, design documents, the mailing list, and the occasional chicken bone.
Today we're covering the recent weeks up to today, March 23rd 2021, and we have two larger topics:
- the release of Java 16 and
- the first few proposals aimed at Java 17
We'll go all the way from language features to API and tooling to deprecations, ports, performance, and security.
For the parts on Java 17 and the upcoming JEPs, keep in mind that we're discussing proposals, so none of this is decided and everything can still change. And please take a look at the relevant links in the description before making up your mind on any of these.
With that out of the way, let's dive right in!
▚Java 16
[... snip this part - my Java 16 guide gives a more exhaustive overview with more examples ...]
▚Java 17
With Java 16 out the door, what's next? Java 17 of course! Two JDK Enhancement Proposals are already targeted for the upcoming release in September and there's a fair chance that a third one will be soon. Let's go over the list.
▚Another Port
Following the Windows ARM64 port in Java 16, JEP 391 proposes to make JDK 17 run on macOS on ARM64.
▚Applets For Removal
After all browser vendors dropped support for Java plugins (or are at least planning to) and Java 9 deprecated the Applet API, the next step is to mark it for removal. This is done by JEP 398 and means the API can be removed in any Java version after 17.
▚Sealed Classes
Then there's a draft JEP that aims to finalize sealed classes in Java 17. While it's not formally targeted at the upcoming version yet, it says it "proposes to finalize Sealed Classes in JDK 17" - we'll follow that closely in the coming months.
▚Outro
Wow, I just threw a lot of references at you. With Java 16 just out and a number of new JEPs proposed in its aftermath, that's somewhat unavoidable, but not what this show is all about. When I see you again in two weeks, there's probably a bit less going on, so we can take some time to look at a few things in more detail. If there's something specific you'd like to get more insight on, let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can do.
And that's it for today on Inside Java Newscast. I'll see you again in two weeks.