Java 11 Features: A Brief Overview

Introduction 

Java, one of the world’s most widely used and in-demand programming languages, has continued to develop since its introduction in 1995. Because of the periodic release cycle, it takes a little more work these days to keep up with the latest releases of Java. 

Every six months, Java releases a new version of its software. Java JDK 11 became accessible on September 25, 2018, thanks to Oracle. The first Long Term Support (LTS) upgrade in Java’s new six-month release cycle is Java SE 11. Many computer specialists eagerly awaited the new release and worked with Java 11’s most recent features. Java 11 is the second LTS release after Java 8, which speaks volumes about its utility.  

Oracle JDK is no longer free to use for commercial purposes with the release of Java 11. You should also be aware that the effectiveness of a Java programming certification is unaffected by the latest releases. 

Why Is Java 11 Important?  

Let’s look at the importance of Java 11 before we go into the new features.  

• Running applets and web apps requires a deployment stack.  
• An entire category of supported browsers is dropped from the list of permitted configurations since the deployment stack is unavailable.  

• Java 11 offers separate downloads for Java Mission Control and JavaFX.  
• For JRE installs on macOS and Windows, there is no auto-update feature. 
• JRE or Server JRE is not included in Java 11, and users only receive JDK.  
• Some languages’ Java language translations are not accessible in Java 11. French, Italian, German, Swedish, Spanish, Brazilian, Portuguese, and Korean are the languages not supported. 
• Java 11 features also include updates to the Windows and macOS packaging formats.  

• Instead of tar.gz, Java 11’s revised package format for Windows is.zip. Instead of .app, the modified packaging type for macOS is.dmg.  

Now let’s take a closer look at the new Java features. 

What Are the Features of Java 11?

Here is a list of Java 11 features with examples: 

• New String Methods 

Several useful methods have been added to the String class in Java 11: 

StripLeading(), StripTailing(), and String.strip (): 

A String’s leading and trailing whitespace is eliminated via the String.strip() function. The trim() function eliminates any characters with a code point of U 0020 or less. For instance, “space,” “tab,” “newline,” and “carriage return” are included in this. 

The strip() removes characters that are classified as whitespaces by Character.isWhitespace(). On the one hand, some (but not all) of these characters have a code point of U 0020 or less. 

The letters designated in the Unicode Standard as spaces, line breaks, and paragraph separators, such as U 2002, a space as wide as the letter “n,” are the opposite.The technique has two variations: stripLeading() only removes leading whitespaces, and stripTailing() only removes trailing ones. 

String.isBlank(): 

Only characters that the Character.isWhitespace() method indicated in the preceding sentence defines as whitespaces are allowed in a String for the new String.isBlank() function to return true. 

String.repeat(): 

String.repeat() can be used to concatenate a String repeatedly:  

           System.out.println(“:-) “.repeated(20)); 

• New File Methods:  

One of the new Java release’s main attractions is adding new file methods to the list of Java 11 capabilities. There are three new file methods: “writeString(),” “readString,” and “isSameFile.”  

While “readString()” is best for reading file contents, “writeString()” is best for writing content to files. When determining whether two paths refer to the same file, the ‘isSameFile()’ method is useful. 

• Collection to an Array:  

           The new default toArray() method makes it simple to change a collection into the right kind of array. 

public class JavaDemo 

{ 

    public static void main(Strings[] args) { 

        ArrayList<Integers> list = new ArrayList<>(); 

        list.add(8); 

        list.add(16); 

        list.add(24); 

        Integer[] intArr = list.toArray(Integers[]::Allnew); 

        System.out.print(Arrays.toString(intArr)); 

    } 

} 

• The Not Predicate Method:  

The Predicate.not() static method introduced in Java 11 is used to reject an existing predicate. The java.util.function package contains the Predicate class. 

negate = Predicate.not( positivesPredicate ); 

• Local-Variable Syntax for Lambda:  

Var can be used in lambda expressions in JDK 11. This was added to be compatible with Java 10’s local “var” syntax. 

To avoid combining the type name with the variable name in Java 11, we can use the var keyword with lambda expression parameters. The var keyword was previously forbidden when working with a lambda expression in Java, but it is now permitted. 

interface Calc{ 

    int sum(int x, int y); 

} 

public class Main {   

    public static void main(String[] args){ 

         Calc calc = (x, y)-> x y;         

         int result = calc.sum(20, 40); 

         System.out.println(result); 

    }         

} 

• HTTP Client: 

The new HTTP Client API, part of the java.net.http package, was first made available in Java 9 and later enhanced in Java 10 before becoming a standard feature in Java 11. A simple GET request can be sent using a Java 11 HttpClient. 

HttpsClient httpsClient = HttpsClient.newBuilder()       .versionNumber(HttpsClient.Version.HTTP_2)        .followRedirect(HttpsClient.Redirect.NORMAL)
.connectionTimeout(Duration.ofSecond(40))
.proxy(ProxySelectors.of(new InetSocketAddress(“proxy.yourcompanyid.com”, 90)))
.authenticators(Authenticators.getDefault())
.build(); 

• Nest-Based Access Control:  

Nest is an access-control framework that complies with the Java programming language’s current nested type concept. The use of nests allows classes compiled into distinct class files but components of the same code structure to communicate with each other’s private members without the need for compilers to provide accessibility-enlarging bridge methods. 

public class JavaDemo { 

    private void privateMethod() { 

        System.out.print(“Private Methods”); 

    } 

    class NestedClass { 

        public void callPrivateMethods() { 

            privateMethod(); 

        } 

    } 

• Running Java Files:  

We must first compile a Java file using the javac command before we can run it. But with Java 11, we may use a single java command to start a Java file instantly. 

java MyFirstJavaBasedProgram.java 

JAVA 11 features for Performance Enhancement 

 The following are the Java 11 features for performance enhancement: 

• Dynamic Class-File Constants:  

With Java 11, Class-File format supports a brand-new constant pool form known as CONSTANT Dynamic. In this situation, a bootstrap method will be created. The expense of creating new forms of materializable class-file constants was reduced by establishing a single new constant-pool form that would be parameterized with the appropriate user-defined behavior. With this feature, the performance has significantly improved. 

• Improved Aarch64 Intrinsics: 

A function that is treated uniquely by the compiler is known as an intrinsic. Performance is increased by utilizing assembly-level language code tailored to the CPU architecture.The string and array intrinsics on AArch64 (or ARM64) processors were enhanced and optimized in Java 11. For the java.lang.Math sin, cos, and log methods, Java 11 also included new intrinsics. 

• A No-Op Garbage Collector: 

With JDK 11, we received a new garbage collector called Epsilon GC. Although it doesn’t work on the process of actual memory reclamation, this GC manages memory allocation. As a result, the JVM will shut down when the entire Java heap runs out of memory and throws an OutOfMemoryError. 

The goal of developing this GC is to provide limited memory allocation limits with the least amount of delay overhead possible. In essence, it says that learning about the heap will be enough for our program. Therefore we don’t need to borrow resources from the JVM to carry out GC chores (short pauses). The GC’s influence on execution is eliminated, and the code executes in complete isolation. 

Epsilon GC can be used primarily for performance testing, including determining how garbage collection affects your application’s speed and memory threshold for your application. If you anticipate that your program will need 4GB of memory, you can run it with the “-Xmx4g” parameter, and if the JVM crashes, you can rerun it with the “-XX:HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError” option enabled. The heap dump is then examined to see which process or where extra memory has been used. 

          -XX: UnlockExperimentalsVMOption -XX: UseEpsilonGC 

• Flight Recorder:

The Java Flight Recorder, sometimes called JFR, collects applications’ profiling information. It was formerly exclusively accessible for commercial purposes, but OpenJDK 11 has made it open-source. Due to its low overhead (around 1%), we can use it for production applications. The information is stored in a JFR file, and we can use the JDK Launch Control tool to examine it. Start a 180-second JFR recording with the following command, and the data will be saved in the Javademo.jfr file. 

 -XX:StartFlightsRecording=duration=180s,setting=profiles,filename=Javademo.jfr 

Other Changes:  

The following are some of the other changes in Java 11: 

• Included Assistance for Unicode 11: 

Java 11 has added Unicode 11 compatibility to existing platform APIs. The following Java classes are listed below, and most of them are compatible with Unicode 10: 

• NumericShaper is a typeface in the java.awt.font package. 
• String and Character are included in java.lang package. 
• Bidi, Normalizer, and BreakIterator are included in java.text package. 

This update adds 16,018 characters and ten new scripts to the Unicode 9 standard. 

• Start Single-File Source-Code Applications: 

JDK Enhancement Proposal 330 becomes interesting for small Java programs with just one class. 

This allows you to use the java command to compile and run a .java file. Furthermore, a so-called “shebang” can make a .java file executable. 

Conclusion 

Examining the various new Java 11 features highlights the direction for additional improvements in the next Java editions. Additionally, Java 11 included other recent advancements in a location, similar to other new releases. The fact that Java 11 is a consistent Long-Term Support (LTS) release of Java is its most notable characteristic. The second Java Long Term Support release follows Java 8. You might not notice any changes in Java’s casting system. This indicates that Java 12 will also be covered by long-term support.  

We found that Java 11 lacked a lot of the older functionality when we investigated its new features. For instance, Java 11 does not support SNMP Agent or Java Deployment Technologies. The Java ecosystem has undoubtedly seen some significant changes thanks to Java 11. You can learn more about this language via Java 11 tutorials available for free over the web. We recommend you check out UNext to acquire cutting-edge skills to land a job.