What's New in JAVA 17

This blog post is an example to show you JAVA is a Ever Green Programming language. Even though many programming languages arose after this language, this programming language stood on the top of all other programming languages. Java programming language continuous to be a choice for developers as well as the enterprises to build a high scalable, superior and secure software application across the globe. Since 1996, it has releasing the new features by adding the new features to the programming language.

Once you observe the periodic updates, Oracle continues to deliver the JAVA updates for every six months. Last year Oracle and JDK Community has celebrated the JAVA 25th birthday, According to the IDC reports JAVA turns 25 where one million developers representing 69% of the full time developers uses JAVA. This platform has release JAVA 16 on March 2021 and it is expecting to release the next version i.e Java 17 in September 2021. In this post im going to share you the exciting features of JAVA 17.

Will JAVA17 will be LTS?

LTS refers to the Long Term Support is product Life Cycle Management Policy in where a stable release of Computer Software is maintained for a longer period of time than the Standard Version. The term LTS is used for the Open Source Software, where the versions is supported for years (or) months than the Standard Edition. And JAVA 17 is considered as the next LTS version of JAVA. The following are the exciting features of JAVA 17

What's coming in JAVA 17?

Context Specific Deserialzation Filters:

This allows applications to configure dynamically selected and  context-specific deserialization filters, using a JVM Wide filter factory which uses the filter for each deserialization operation.

  • The opearation of Deserialization of untrusted data is intrinsically risky. This is because; the contents of the incoming data stream were obtained in many cases via unknown (or) the unauthenticated client. 
  • The key to prevent serialization is to prohibit the instances of arbitrary classes from being serialized that prevent the execution of methods directly (or) indirectly.
  • An attacker can run the code from any class with the bad intent by carefully constructing the stream.

Foreign Function and Memory API:

This feature of the JAVA programming language allows the JAVA users  to call up the Native Libraries, and process the native data without the risk of JNI, by efficiently invoking the foreign functions and securely accessing the foreign memory, This feature was implemented with the following goals

Goals:

  • Ease to Use: Replaces the superiors pure JAVA model with the JAVA Native Interface (JNI)
  • Performance:  The performance is similar to the existing API's like JNI's 
  • Safety:  Deactive the unsecure options to the application only if developer (or) the end user has expreslly opted in.
  • General: Provides the ways to work with the various types of external memories, and to accommodate other programming langauges over time

Vector API (Second Incubator):

This feature was introduced again introduced in this platform, even though it was introduced in JAVA 16 to express the vector computations, that were reliably to optimal the vector instructions, on supported CPU architectures at Run time, with scalar operations. This was introduced to improve the performance, and implementation including the enhancements to translate the byte vectors to and fro from the boolean arrays. This feature has the following goals:

Clear and Concise API: The API present in this platform is good enough and is capbale of expressing broad variety of vector computations in a clear and concise manner.

Platform Agnostic: The API Should be independent of CPU Artchitecture, allowing the implementations of variety of artchitecures, that supports the vector additions.

Graceful Degradation: If a vector computation cannot be efficiently compiled to the vector instructions, then warnings can be issued.

Deprecates the security Manager for Removal: 

Security Manager has deprecated in JAVA 17, and will be removed in the future version, along with the legacy applet. This feature has the following goals:

  • Prepares developers for security Manager removal in the future version of JAVA.
  • If the users JAVA program relies of security Manager, it isssues an alert.
  • Evaluate the new API's (or) mechanisms to fix the limit (or) unique use cases when the security manager has been used such as blocking systems:exit.

Removes the AOT and JIT Compiler:

Removes Java bases Ahead of Time (AOT) and Just In Time Compiler, because of the limited usage and the effort required to maintain. As an experimental feature, JDK 9 has been integrated with ahead of time compilation. For AOT Compilation, Jaotc uses the java written, Graal compiler. Since the experiemental efforts have not been used there is considerable effort to maintain and improve them.

Sealed Classes:

This feature ehances the JAVA programming languages with sealed classes and interfaces. Sealed Classes and interfaces, restricts other classes (or) interfaces that can implement (or) extend. This feature has the following goals:

  • Enables the class (or)  interactive author, to control which to implement it.
  • Support future pattern matching directions, with the basis to examine the trends.

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Removes RMI Activiation:

The Remote Methods Invocation (RMI) mechanism will be removes but the rest of the RMI should be preserved.  The RMI activation has become reduntant and is no longer in use. 

Pattern Matching for Switch:

The Pattern Matching for Switch allows the switch expressions and the statements to the verified against a variety of patterns each with a different action. Hence this makes it possible to express the complex data-oriented queries in a simplistic and secure manner. This feature has the following goals, 

Goals:

  • Allows patterns to appear in Case labels, increases the expresiveness and applicability of script phases and statements
  • Ensures all the existing Switch expressions and statements compile with the identical semantics and perform them without any modifications

Besides, two new patterns were introduced: 

  • Guardrd patterns: To refine the pattern matching logic using arbitraty boolean expressions
  • Parentheseized Patterns: to clear up the parsing ambiguities.

Strongly Encapsulate the JDK Signals:

This feature strongly encapsulate every elements of JDK, except for the critical Internal API's such as sun.misc.Unsafe. It is no longer be possible to relax the strict encapsulation, of internal parts with a single command line option.

Depreacte the Applet API for Removal:

Since all the web browsers vendors have removed (or) revealed the plans to drop the support for JAVA browser plugins, Applet API is effectively use less.

Mac OS / AArch 64 Port:

Apple decides to move from X64 to AArch 64 on its macintosh computers. For Linux, Aarch 64 version of JAVA is already available  and the development of windows port is currently under way. Because of the discrepancies in lower level conversations, such as binary interface, JAVA developers plan to use the existing AArch 64 Code from these ports by using the conditional compilation

New Mac OS Renedering Pipeline:

Since the JAVA 2D is totally reliant on Open GL, there is need for new JAVA 2D rendering pipeline, for mac OS using the new Apple metal framework. This has the following goals: 

Goals:

  • Provide a completely functioning rendering pipeline for the mac OS metal framework based 2D API.
  • Co-exist with Open GL until it is discontinued.

 Enhanced Pseudo Random Number Generators:

Introduces new interface and implementations for pseudo random generators, that includes the jumpable PRNG and a splittable class PRNG algorithm

  • Removes the Reduntant code from the current PRNG groups and can better support stream based programming
  • Maintains Java.util.Random class as far as possible.

Restore the Strict Floating Point Semantics:

Rather of having both severe floating point semantics (strict fp) and significantly different default floating point semantics make floating point operations uniformly strict. 

Likewise, there are few other Java updates, that were every JAVA user is going to enjoy from September 2021. By reaching the end of this blog, I hope you people have acquired good information on what's new in Java 17. For practical explanation of these features, enroll today at JAVA Online Course and impart then necessary knowledge to become a certified JAVA Professional.