Hello Java 22: Summary Java Day London 2024!

My first trip after I arriving in Dublin was to London, UK, to attend Java Day – Oracle.

I was very excited to attend this event because I have been using Java for 10 years, and my first course to YouTube was: Crud AdminFaces, where I used Java + JSF.

I could saw some news about the Java language, and I will share the main updates.

Oracle JDK Relases

• In the image below, we can see the forecast for the next releases:

Java is for BIG and SMALL projects

• This statement is polemic, I know, because there are many bad opinions about Java projects.
• Usually, people say Java is for BIG projects, but nowadays Java has improved a lot, and we can use it for SMALL projects too.
• I heard this several times from the architects at Oracle:

Java is for small projects too!  

 

New Hello World (JEP 445)

• With the rise of JavaScript, we saw how simple it was to create something.
• However, Java took a while to meet this requirement, but finally, the language embraced simplicity.
• Now it’s really easy to write the famous “Hello world” with the JEP 445 (joined in release 21)

void main() {
  println("Hello!")
}

• It’s important  to mention the news in JEP 286, where ‘var’ was introduced.

var list = new ArrayList<String>();

• I’m sharing this example because after Java 8, I noticed many improvements in the language.
• Java is elegant and powerful.

 

String Templates (JEP 430)

• FINALLY!
• I have been using StringBuilder for a long time, and now, String Templates were added in release 21!

var firstName = "Karan";
var lastName = "Alves Pereira";
var fullName = STR. "FullName is \{ firstName } \{ lastName }" ;

• I admit I was a little frustrated because we need to put: STR. before we write.
• Compare the same example with Javascript:

var firstName = "Karan";
var lastName = "Alves Pereira";
var fullName = `FullName is ${firstName} ${lastName}`

• Isn’t perfect, but I liked 🙂

 

Sealed Classes (JEP 409)

• I love this feature because now we can restrict which other classes may extend or implement interfaces.
• Now we can have more control using polymorphism.

sealed interface Shape permits Circle, Rectangle {...}

• This feature was instroduced in release 17.

 

What to expect from the future with Java?

By Geordes Saab, Senior Vice President Oracle:

• New features and innovation on a regular.
• Rich ecosystem of libraries and frameworks.
• Access to powerful tools for development and runtime support.
• These all work together and support you no matter where you are on the spectrum of pace of change.
• You can choose the pace of change that is appropriate for your organization and your use case.

 

Conclusion

• Java is for small and big projects.
• I haven’t seen any programming language evolve as much as Java has in the last 10 years.
• To those who say, “Java is slow”. Go update yourself!
• I noticed the problem with JavaScript in projects (lack of rules). Then I saw the creation of TypeScript introducing RULES.
• It’s interesting because when I discovered TypeScript, I saw a flexible copy of Java.
• TypeScript was inspired by Java and now Java inspired by Javascript.
• That’s the power of evolution!