Are you ready for the innovations that Java 9 will provide? Java 9 is a major update to the incredibly common, versatile, and powerful SDK. Development teams hoping to get the most out of Java 9 will want to prepare themselves in advance for the coming changes. And there’s time: Java 9’s release has been moved from early 2016 to March of 2017.
What’s New in Java 9?
One of the most exciting developments in Java 9 is the addition of jshell; an easy way to run Java commands directly as a console query rather than wrapped up in a program. This will make it far easier to debug and test short lines of code. Java 9 will also be supporting HTTP 2.0, which is considered to be a quickly advancing web standard; HTTP 2.0 can increase speed by as much as 47.7% in the right environments. Many browsers today are already showing a preference for HTTP 2.0 over the older HTTP 1.1.
That being said, there are also some features that are likely to be missing in Java 9. A money and currency API is still being developed but it isn’t likely to be included in Java 9, likely because of the extensive global currencies that need to be included. The JSON API that was previously discussed also didn’t quite make it into Java 9, though it may be available in Java 10. These features were not dropped because they wouldn’t be useful but rather because Oracle committed to other priorities ahead of them.
Are You Ready for Java 9?
With all the new changes, how can you prepare to leverage the new power and tools of Java 9? The first step with any new iteration of Java is to determine whether the new Java could potentially break your organization’s code. As long as a program only uses standard Java SE APIs, it should transition easily to Java 9. JDK-specific APIs may not work and internal APIs may become unavailable, so any areas of code with these dependencies should be isolated either for modification or for testing when the new Java 9 arrives.
In addition to testing existing code, development teams may want to attend Oracle-based seminars regarding the new technology, Project Jigsaw, and the modular Java approach. For a large part, though Java 9 is an extensive update, it’s mostly additive rather than subtractive; most development teams should be able to safely transition their existing projects over to Java 9 without substantial alterations, and many developers will find Java 9 extremely familiar in approach and style. As the launch date for Java 9 becomes closer, it’s likely that Oracle will host special seminars and events for more advanced users.
The developers of the SDK are working to revitalize the platform, and the delay in release likely just means a higher quality and wider variety of features and improvements. Oracle has already discussed many of the outstanding features of Java 9 so far, but there are sure to be additions throughout 2016. For more information regarding the newest developments affecting software, contact the experts at Software Specialists today.
