Java has seen significant updates and changes from Java 8 to Java 17. Below is a comparison of the key differences, new features, improvements, and deprecated features between Java 8 and Java 17. ​ <h2>Key Differences and New Features:</h2><h3>Java 8:</h3><ol><li style="font-size: 18px">Lambda Expressions: Introduced to enable functional programming, allowing you to pass functionality as arguments to methods.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Stream API: Added to facilitate functional-style operations on streams of elements, such as map-reduce transformations on collections.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Optional: A container object which may or may not contain a non-null value.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Default Methods: Introduced in interfaces to provide default implementations for methods.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Nashorn JavaScript Engine: A lightweight, high-performance JavaScript runtime.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">New Date and Time API: Improved date and time handling with the <code>java.time</code> package.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Method References: Easier syntax for referring to methods.</li></ol><h3>Java 17:</h3><ol><li style="font-size: 18px">Sealed Classes: Allows classes to restrict which other classes or interfaces may extend or implement them.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Pattern Matching for <code>instanceof</code>: Simplifies common instanceof checks.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Records: A compact syntax for declaring classes which are transparent holders for shallowly immutable data.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Text Blocks: Multiline strings, simplifying the inclusion of large text blocks in the code.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Enhanced <code>switch</code>: <code>switch</code> expressions can now return values, and support for pattern matching.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Foreign Function &amp; Memory API (Incubator): Provides an API to interact with native code and memory more safely and efficiently.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Vector API (Incubator): Introduced to express vector computations that compile to optimal vector hardware instructions on supported CPU architectures.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Deprecation and Removal of RMI Activation: The RMI Activation mechanism has been removed.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Z Garbage Collector: A scalable low-latency garbage collector.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Improved Docker Support: Better support for containerized environments, such as Docker.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Numerous JEPs (JDK Enhancement Proposals): Each JEP brings in a range of new features and improvements.</li></ol>Deprecated and Removed Features <h3>Java 8:</h3><ul><li style="font-size: 18px">Java 8 itself was a major release and did not deprecate or remove many features, but it set the stage for future removals by introducing more robust APIs like the new Date and Time API.</li></ul><h3>Java 17:</h3><ul><li style="font-size: 18px">Removal of Nashorn: The Nashorn JavaScript engine, introduced in Java 8, has been removed.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Removal of RMI Activation: The Remote Method Invocation (RMI) Activation has been deprecated and removed.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Applets: Applets were deprecated in Java 9 and have been removed in Java 17.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Finalization: Finalization has been deprecated for removal in a future release.</li></ul>Performance Improvements <ul><li style="font-size: 18px">Garbage Collection Enhancements: Java 17 includes improvements to the Z Garbage Collector (ZGC) and the Shenandoah GC, providing better performance and lower latency.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">JVM Improvements: The JVM continues to receive performance improvements, making newer versions generally faster and more efficient than older ones.</li></ul>Security Enhancements <ul><li style="font-size: 18px">Enhanced Security Algorithms: Java 17 includes more secure and efficient cryptographic algorithms.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Improved Container Awareness: Better resource management and security in containerized environments like Docker.</li></ul>Compatibility and Migration <ul><li style="font-size: 18px">Backward Compatibility: Java strives to maintain backward compatibility, but migrating from Java 8 to Java 17 may require changes in the code, especially if deprecated features were used.</li><li style="font-size: 18px">Deprecation Warnings: Pay attention to deprecation warnings in Java 8, as these features may be removed in future versions.</li></ul>Conclusion Java 8 was a major release that introduced a range of features enabling functional programming and modern APIs, making it one of the most widely used versions of Java.Java 17 is the latest Long-Term Support (LTS) version, incorporating numerous new language features, API enhancements, and performance improvements, while also cleaning up older, less secure, or less efficient features.Upgrading from Java 8 to Java 17 offers many benefits in terms of performance, security, and language features. However, it requires careful consideration of code changes due to deprecated and removed features.

Comparison between Java 8 and Java 17

JAVA 8 VS JAVA 17

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