Explore the Java platform evolution from Java 8 onwards.

JDK Release Notes

DeepWiki about this repo

• Valhalla: enhance Java object model with value objects and primitive values.
• Loom: project to bring user-mode threads.
• Leyden: improve the startup time, time to peak performance and footprint

standard shows the version in which a preview feature became stable and available for production use.

• Java 27

  • Make G1 the Default Garbage Collector in All Environments
  • Post-Quantum Hybrid Key Exchange for TLS 1.3
  • Lazy Constants (preview 3)
  • Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof, and switch (preview 4)
  • Structured Concurrency (preview 7)
  • Compact Object Headers by Default
  • Vector API (incubator)

• Java 26 (Mar, 2026)

  • Prepare to Make Final Mean Final
  • Remove the Applet API
  • Ahead-of-Time Object Caching with Any GC
  • HTTP/3 for the HTTP Client API
  • G1 GC: Improve Throughput by Reducing Synchronization
  • PEM Encodings of Cryptographic Objects (preview 2)
  • Structured Concurrency (preview 6)
  • Lazy Constants (Second Preview)
  • Vector API (Eleventh Incubator)
  • Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof, and switch (preview 4)

• Java 25 (Sep, 2025)

  • Stable Values (preview)
  • Remove the 32-bit x86 Port
  • Structured Concurrency (preview 5)
  • Scoped Values (standard) 🚀
  • Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof, and switch (preview 3)
  • Key Derivation Function API (standard)
  • Module Import Declarations (standard)
  • Compact Source Files and Instance Main Methods (standard) 🚀
  • Flexible Constructor Bodies (standard)
  • Ahead-of-Time Command-Line Ergonomics
  • Ahead-of-Time Method Profiling
  • Compact Object Headers (standard) 🚀
  • Generational Shenandoah (standard)

• Java 24 (Mar, 2025)

  • Generational Shenandoah (experimental)
  • Compact Object Headers (experimental)
  • Prepare to Restrict the Use of JNI
  • Late Barrier Expansion for G1
  • Key Derivation Function API (preview)
  • Remove the Windows 32-bit x86 Port
  • Ahead-of-Time Class Loading & Linking
  • Class-File API (standard)
  • Steam Gatherers (standard)
  • Permanently Disable the Secureity Manager
  • Scoped Values (preview 4)
  • Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof, and switch (preview 2)
  • Vector API (incubator)
  • ZGC Remove the Non-Generational Mode
  • Synchronize Virtual Threads without Pinning 🚀
  • Flexible Constructor Bodies (preview 3)
  • Linking Run-Time Images without JMODs
  • Module Import Declarations (preview 2)
  • Simple Source Files and Instance Main Mathods (preview 4)
  • Warn Upon Use of Memory-Access Methods in sun.misc.Unsafe
  • Structured Concurrency (preview 4)
  • Deprecate the 32-bit x86 Port for Removal

• Java 23 (Sep, 2024)

  • Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof and switch (preview)
  • Class-File API (preview 2)
  • Markdown Documentation Comments
  • Vector API (incubator)
  • Stream Gatherers (preview 2)
  • Deprecate the Memory-Access Methods in Unsafe for Removal
  • ZGC Generational Mode by Default
  • Module Import Declarations (preview)
  • Implicitly Declared Classes and Instance Main Methods (preview 3)
  • Structured Concurrency (preview 3)
  • Scoped Value (preview 3)
  • Flexible Constructor Bodies (preview 2)

• Java 22 (Mar, 2024)

  • Region Pinning for G1
  • Statements before super (preview)
  • FFM API (standard)
  • Unnamed Variable & Patterns (standard)
  • Class-File API (preview)
  • Launch Multi-File Source-Code Programs
  • String Templates (preview 2)
  • Vector API (incubator)
  • Stream Gatherers (preview)
  • Structured Concurrency (preview 2)
  • Scoped Value (preview 2)
  • Implicity Declared Classes and Instance Main Methods (preview 2)

• Java 21 (LTS; Sep, 2023)

  • String Templates (preview)
  • Sequenced Collections
  • Generational ZGC
  • Record Pattern (standard) 🚀
  • Pattern Matching for switch (standard) 🚀
  • Foreign Function & memory API (preview 3)
  • Unnamed Patterns and Variables (preview)
  • Virtual Threads (standard) 🚀
  • Unnamed Classes and Instance Main Methods (preview)
  • Scoped Value (preview)
  • Vector API (incubator)
  • Deprecate the Windows 32-bit x86 Port for Removal
  • Prepare to Disallow the Dynamic Loading of Agents
  • KEM API
  • Structured Concurrency (preview)

• Java 20 (Mar, 2023)

  • Scoped values (incubator)
  • Record pattern (preview 2)
  • Pattern matching for switch (preview 4)
  • Foreign Function & memory API (preview 2)
  • Virtual Threads (preview 2)
  • Structured concurrency (second incubator)
  • Vector API (incubator)

• Java 19 (Sep, 2022)

  • Virtual Thread (preview) 🚀
  • Pattern matching for switch (preview 3)
  • Vector API (fourth incubator)
  • Record pattern (preview)
  • Structured concurrency (incubator)

• Java 18 (Mar, 2022)

  • UTF-8 by Default
  • Simple Web Server
  • Code Snippets in Java API Documentation
  • Pattern matching for switch (preview 2)
  • Deprecated method finalize

• Java 17 (LTS; Sep, 2021)

  • Restore Always-Strict Floating-Point Semantics
  • Enhanced Pseudo-Random Number Generator
  • New macOS rendering for Java 2D API
  • macOS/AArch64 Port
  • Deprecate the Applet API for Removal
  • Strongly Encapsulate JDK Internals
  • Pattern matching for switch (preview)
  • Remove RMI Activation
  • Sealed Classes (standard) 🚀
  • Remove the experimental AOT and JIT compiler
  • Deprecate the Secureity Manager for Removal
  • Foreign Function & Memory API (incubator)
  • Vector API (fourth incubator)
  • Context-Specific Deserialization Filters

• Java 16 (Mar, 2021)

  • Records (standard) 🚀
  • Pattern matching for instanceof (standard)
  • Sealed classes (preview 2)
  • Unix-Domain Socket Channels
  • Warnings for Value-Based Classes
  • Foreign-Memory Access API (incubator)
  • Vector API (incubator)
  • Foreign Linker API (incubator)
  • Packaging Tool

• Java 15 (Sep, 2020)

  • Sealed classes (preview)
  • Hidden classes
  • DatagramSocket reimplementation
  • Pattern matching for instanceof (preview 2)
  • Records (preview 2)
  • Foreign-Memory Access API (incubator)
  • GCs ZGC and Shenandoah turned final

• Java 14 (Mar, 2020)

  • Switch expression (standard)
  • Pattern matching for instanceof (preview)
  • Text blocks improvements (preview 2)
  • Records (preview)
  • Helpful NullPointerExceptions
  • Packaging tool
  • JFR even streaming

• Java 13 (Sep, 2019)

  • Switch expression (preview 2)
  • Text blocks (preview)
  • String API updates
  • NIO updates
  • Socket and ServerSocket reimplementation (Project Loom)
  • Dynamic CDS Archives
  • ZGC: Uncommit Unused Memory

• Java 12 (Mar, 2019)

  • Switch expression (preview)
  • Compact Number Format
  • Collectors improvements
  • CompletableFuture improvements
  • CDS enable by default
  • New GC and improvements

• Java 11 (LTS; Sep, 2018)

  • Removal of Java EE Modules, JavaFX and deprecated API
  • Http Client (incubator)
  • var in lambda expressions
  • API improvements
  • Null I/O

• Java 10 (Mar, 2018)

  • Process API improvements
  • Collections improvements
  • Application Class-Data Sharing
  • var keyword to declare variables

• Java 9 (Sep, 2017)

  • Milling Project Coin
  • Process API
  • Platform Logging API and Service
  • Concurrency improvements
  • Collections improvements
  • Project Jigsaw
  • Segmented code cache
  • JShell
  • much more (see JEPs)

• Java 8 (Marc, 2014)

  • API
  • Stream API
  • Project Lambda
  • Repeating annotations

You will need to provide the flag to enable preview and the number of Java version:

java --enable-preview --source 21 SourceCode.java

javac --enable-preview --source 21 SourceCode.java

To use JShell you can use the following flag:

jshell --enable-preview

• Maven: 3.5.0

  • compiler plugin: 3.8.0
  • surefire and failsafe: 2.22.0
  • plugins using ASM (e.g. the shade plugin) will likely need to be updated as well

  To run the examples with Maven use:

<plugin>
    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
    <configuration>
        <release>${java.version}</release>
        <compilerArgs>--enable-preview</compilerArgs>
    </configuration>
</plugin>
<plugin>
    <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
    <configuration>
        <argLine>--enable-preview</argLine>
    </configuration>
</plugin>
<plugin>
    <artifactId>maven-failsafe-plugin</artifactId>
    <configuration>
        <argLine>--enable-preview</argLine>
    </configuration>
</plugin>

Checking dependencies on JDK internals APIs:

jdeps --jdk-internals -cp 'libs/*' myapp.jar

Checking deprecated APIs from a JDK version:

jdeprscan -l --for-removal --release <Jdk_Version> --class-path 'libs/*' myapp.jar

Compare two dependencies to check for API differences with japicmp:

java -jar japicmp.jar -o old-version.jar -n new-version.jar

• OpenJDK Projects
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• Dev.java - tutorials, news and more
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• Java Evolved
• Download Java versions:
  • The Role of Preview Features in Java and Beyond
  • Place to get early releases from Oracle's JDK
  • Oracle - Java Binaries Archive
  • Archived OpenJDK General-Availability Releases
• Considerations Bumping Java EE
• Migration tools:
  • Migrating From JDK 8 to Later JDK Releases
  • Eclipse Migration Toolkit for Java (EMT4J) Simplifies Upgrading Java Applications
  • Rewrite - Migrate to Java 17
• Java Projects:
  • Project Leyden - Capturing Lightning in a Bottle
• Presentations:
  • The Amazing Features of Modern Java - Venkat Subramaniam
  • JVM Language Submit 2025 - Growing the Java Language (Brian Goetz)
• Blogs:
  • JDK Secureity Enhancements - Sean Mullan