Advanced Java: Overview

Name: Advanced Java: Overview
Author: Scott Stanlick

Discover Oracle’s release cadence and get an overview of recent events, with a look into future developments as well

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Course: On-Demand

Hello there, my name is Scott Stanlick and in these lessons, you will learn about the Java version history. We will take a look at improvements that have been made to the Java type system. Then we'll wrap up by looking at a few modern code patterns. In this lesson, I'm gonna show you the Java version history. We'll go over some of the releases and milestones. So Java 17 is the latest release version of the language. And Oracle has implemented a cadence now where they're releasing a new version every six months. So the timeline shows September 21 was version 17 and every six months, there will be a new version. Java version 8 is commonly referred to as the baseline. Java 8 was a huge release that extended Java 5, which in its own right was a pretty healthy sized release. And Java 8 added many interesting features, like lambda expressions, streams, functions, and many more things that we will see throughout this course. Java version 9, we saw a few improvements made to the way that we can easily construct collections type objects: lists, sets, maps, et cetera. The Stream API received a takeWhile and a dropWhile behavior. The optional got a much needed ifPresentOrElse. And we saw the advent of a new HttpClient. Java versions 10, 11 and 12 were principally focused on Garbage Collection optimizations. They did give us developers a few notables. Local variable type inference using a var. They've given us some interesting methods that we will look at soon on the String and the Files classes. And they've also now allowed us the support for running a Java source file without having to go through the compiler phase. Version 13 and 14 saw the inclusion of lambda and return values in switch expressions, which we will look at here in just a little while. They've also provided us support for multiline strings without all the pluses and string continuation or concatenation. They added a new record type to the type system. And they've added a new way of doing pattern matching using Instanceof without casting explicitly. And they've added this capability to the switch expressions. And we will see examples of that. Java versions 15, 16 and 17 added a type of class called a sealed class that provides greater constraints around where it can be used, who can extend it, things along those lines. There were completions around garbage collection optimizations and many of what Oracle consider preview of experimental features were finalized. The next lesson, we're gonna take a deep dive into the Java type system. I appreciate you watching. Stay tuned for the next lesson.

Advanced Provider : Scott Stanlick 3 Lessons · 13m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

In these lessons, we’ll cover the new release schedule that Oracle has committed to and how to stay on top of current trends. Gone is the annual release schedule, which typically meant waiting 18 to 24 months to be able to use new features in production applications.

We’ll discuss how Java was traditionally limited to include classes and interfaces, and how Oracle has since expanded the Java language type system: An enumerated type was added a few releases back, and more recently Oracle added a record type. The record type is useful in many cases where programmers were previously forced to use a class instead.

We will wrap up with a peek into the future of Java and the forward thinking that continues to make it one of the of widely used programming languages out there.

What You'll Learn

Describe the Oracle release cycle and its move away from the annual 18-to-24-month release schedule
Identify assorted new Java language features added by Oracle
Explain how the switch construct has been improved
Use multiline strings in modern Java
Recognize Java's new pattern matching with instanceof
Trace Java version history and the expansion of the Java language type system

Key Takeaways

Oracle has committed to a new release schedule, replacing the prior annual cycle that typically meant waiting 18 to 24 months before new features could be used in production applications.
Java was traditionally limited to classes and interfaces, but Oracle has since expanded the Java language type system.
An enumerated type was added a few releases back, and Oracle more recently added a record type.
The record type is useful in many cases where programmers were previously forced to use a class instead.
The course closes with a look at the future of Java and the forward thinking that keeps it one of the most widely used programming languages.

Frequently Asked Questions

What topics does this course cover?

It covers Oracle's new release schedule and how to stay on top of current trends, the expansion of the Java language type system (including the enumerated type and the newer record type), and modern Java coding features such as the improved switch, multiline strings, and pattern matching with instanceof. It wraps up with a peek into the future of Java.

What will I be able to do after completing this course?

You will be able to describe the Oracle release cycle, identify assorted new language features, explain how the switch has been improved, understand how to use multiline strings, and recognize Java's new pattern matching with instanceof.

What lessons are included?

The course includes three lessons: Java Version History, Java Type Systems, and Modern Java Coding.

What skills does this course relate to?

It relates to Java 11, Java 8, Java EE Version History, Java Enterprise Edition, Oracle Agile, and the Software Release Life Cycle.

Why was the record type added to Java?

The record type is useful in many cases where programmers were previously forced to use a class instead, and it is part of Oracle's expansion of the Java language type system.