Software Update: Oracle Java 8

Oracle has released version 8.0 of both the Java Standard Edition development kit and runtime environment. New in version 8 is, among other things, that developers can use lambda expressions, which should make their work more efficient and easier. More information can be found on our front page, these are the release notes:

Java SE 8 Features

• Lambda Expressions (JSR 335) – a new language feature introduced in Java SE 8. Lambdas enable you to treat functions as method arguments or code as data.
• Nashorn – a lightweight high-performance JavaScript runtime in 100% pure Java, native on the JVM, that enables Java developers to embed JavaScript in Java applications.
• Compact Profiles – predefined subsets of the Java SE platform that enable applications that do not require the entire Platform to be deployed and run on small devices.
• Stream API – Classes in the new java.util.stream package provide a Stream API to support functional-style (eg Filter/Map/Reduce) operations on streams of elements. The Stream API is integrated into the Collections API, which enables bulk operations on collections, such as sequential or parallel map-reduce transformations.
• Date & Time API (JSR 310) – a new set of packages that provide a comprehensive date-time model.
• Type Annotations (JSR 308) – provides the ability to apply an annotation anywhere a type is used, not just on a declaration. Used with a pluggable type system, this feature enables improved type checking of your code.
• Java Mission Control 5.3 –usability improvements to allow Java administrators and developers to more easily gather detailed low level information about how the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and the Java application are behaving; support for Java SE Embedded 8 (Full JRE Profile)
• JavaFX – features and enhancements include an embedded specific graphics stack, new UI controls, a Modena theme, functionality to enable developers to embed Swing content into JavaFX applications, new 3D graphics features, and additional HTML 5 support.
• Security Features and Enhancements
• … and much more.