Java 8 Features
Introduction
- Java 8 is the most awaited release of the Java programming language development.
- It was released by Oracle on 18 March 2014.
- Java 8 introduced many major features that completely changed how developers write code in Java.
- It brought functional programming capabilities to Java for the first time.
- This version is considered a landmark release because of the number of enhancements it provided.
Why Java 8 is So Important?
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Java 8 is considered very important due to the following reasons:
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Concise and Readable Code:
- Java 8 made Java code more concise, readable, and powerful with features like lambda expressions and method references.
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Stream API Introduction:
- It introduced the Stream API, which allows developers to process collections in a functional, clean, and parallelizable way.
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Improve Interface Design:
- It improved interface design by introducing default and static methods, avoiding breaking old code when new methods are added.
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Modern Date-Time API:
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Java 8 replaced the old, cumbersome
java.util.DateandCalendarAPI with the newjava.timepackage, which is easier to use and thread-safe.
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Java 8 replaced the old, cumbersome
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Reduced Boilerplate Code:
- It significantly reduced boilerplate code, helping developers write cleaner and shorter programs.
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Better Performance:
- It enabled better performance by allowing parallel execution of streams, which utilizes multi-core processors efficiently.
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Modern Programming Experience:
- Java 8 gave developers a modern programming experience and aligned Java with other popular languages that support functional programming.
-
Concise and Readable Code:
Major Features of Java 8
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Some major features in Java 8 are listed below:
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Default Methods in Interfaces:
- Allows adding new methods to interfaces without breaking existing implementations.
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Static Methods in Interfaces:
- Enables defining utility/helper methods inside interfaces.
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Functional Interfaces:
- Interfaces with a single abstract method (SAM), used along with lambda expressions.
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Lambda Expressions:
- Enables writing code in functional style and reduces verbosity.
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Optional Class:
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Used to handle null values and avoid
NullPointerException.
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Used to handle null values and avoid
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Method References
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A shorthand notation to call existing methods using
::operator.
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A shorthand notation to call existing methods using
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Stream API
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Allows processing collections of data (
filter,map,reduce) in a clean and efficient way.
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Allows processing collections of data (
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New Date-Time API:
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Provides immutable, modern, and thread-safe classes to handle date and time inside
java.timepackage.
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Provides immutable, modern, and thread-safe classes to handle date and time inside
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Default Methods in Interfaces:
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Note:
- There are many more features in Java 8, but the above list covers only the most important ones.
- All these features will be explained one by one in the upcoming tutorials.
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