Java's growth through Oracle provides coding for the future
At some point in your life, it is likely that you would have heard of, utilised, or even worked with Java software in your day to day life.
First released by Sun Microsystems in 1995, Java's programming language and computing technology has been perceived by many as the number one developer platform in the world for some time now, and it's not hard to see why.
With software development titans Oracle at the helm, Java has thrived in ways like never before and provided some of the most effective and innovative solutions across a wide range of industries and sectors.
From the likes of NASA, who use the platform to run their World Wind open source proprietary software, to companies like Netflix and Spotify who use it for functionality and back-end operations, there's a consistency and dependability that runs deep within Java's core.
Since the platform's humble beginnings, much has changed in the way of technology, and Java has been no stranger to successfully adapting to change. Innovative new products and digital services designed for the future continue to rely on Java, and some cannot function fully without it making updates a crucial development factor.
Universities, Fortune 500 companies and even games like Minecraft all rely on Java to enhance their operations, and its clear that open source and machine learning has created new opportunities and horizons for Java and its users.
In light of today's climate, Java 18 (Oracle JDK 18) was recently released by Oracle as the latest iteration of the platform and includes nine groundbreaking enhancements that will further improve developer productivity.
The latest Java Development Kit (JDK) provides updates and improvements with nine JDK Enhancement Proposals (JEPs).
Some of the most impressive features include the capability to add Code Snippets in Java APIDocumentation (JEP 413), which simplifies the addition of sample source code in API documentation, and Simple Web Server (JEP 408) for prototyping and testing.
Developers can also explore two incubating modules: the Vector API (JEP 417) and the Foreign Function and Memory API (JEP 419), as well as a preview feature: Pattern Matching for Switch (JEP 420).
Oracle Java Platform Group VP of development Georges Saab says the company is committed to ensuring the platform is in the best form possible to help developers reach their full potential.
"The release of Java 18 demonstrates Oracle's continued commitment to provide enterprises and developers faster access to enhancements with the six-month feature release cadence," he says.
"We continue to make technical investments that improve the performance, stability, and security of the Java SE Platform implementations, as well as the Java Development Kit."
The company also recently introduced Java Management Service (JMS), a new Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) native service to help manage Java runtimes and applications on-premises or on any cloud.
This helps source information needed to manage Java deployments across the enterprise and is included for OCI workloads and for Java SE Subscribers.
Java is also renowned for its extensive developer community, and the recent collaboration via the OpenJDK Project and the Java Community Process (JCP) has delivered a variety of innovations in the sixth-month release cadence.
"Java developers want continued innovation with modern programming language features, developer experience enhancements, cloud managed services, and stability," says RedMonk principal analyst James Governor.
"With Java's consistent six-month release cadence Oracle is meeting those demands, helping to keep Java relevant for modern applications and workloads."
A full list of updates can be found here. Contact Oracle for more information on Java 18 and developer solutions for your business.
