Category : Java | Sub Category : Java 8 Features | By Prasad Bonam Last updated: 2023-07-09 09:28:59 Viewed : 347
Some of the important Java 8 features are:
Java 8 introduced several new features and enhancements that significantly improved the language and its capabilities. Some of the key features introduced in Java 8 are:
Lambda Expressions: Lambda expressions provide a concise way to represent anonymous functions or function objects. They enable functional programming by treating functions as first-class citizens in Java. Lambda expressions simplify the use of functional interfaces and enable the use of functional programming techniques.
Stream API: The Stream API introduced a new way to perform bulk operations on collections of data. It provides a fluent and declarative programming style for processing data in a pipeline of operations, such as filtering, mapping, reducing, and more. Streams allow for parallel execution and can greatly simplify code that deals with collections.
Functional Interfaces: Java 8 introduced the java.util.function package, which includes a set of functional interfaces such as Predicate, Function, Consumer, and Supplier. These interfaces represent common functional constructs and can be used with lambda expressions to write more concise and expressive code.
Default Methods: Default methods enable interfaces to have methods with default implementations. They allow for backward compatibility by adding new methods to existing interfaces without breaking the implementation of classes that implement those interfaces. Default methods facilitate the evolution of interfaces over time.
Method References: Method references provide a shorthand notation for referring to methods or constructors by their names. They can be used instead of lambda expressions in certain cases where the lambda expression would simply call a single method. Method references improve code readability and reduce boilerplate code.
Optional Class: The Optional class is a container object that may or may not contain a non-null value. It helps prevent null pointer exceptions and provides a more expressive way to handle scenarios where a value may be absent. Optional encourages explicit handling of potentially null values and helps improve code robustness.
Date/Time API: Java 8 introduced a new date and time API in the java.time package. The new API provides a more comprehensive and intuitive way to handle dates, times, durations, and time zones. It addresses the shortcomings of the old java.util.Date and java.util.Calendar classes and offers better support for date and time manipulation.
CompletableFuture: The CompletableFuture class provides a higher-level abstraction for asynchronous programming and handling asynchronous computations. It allows composing and chaining multiple asynchronous operations, handling exceptions, and waiting for the completion of multiple tasks. CompletableFuture simplifies the development of concurrent and asynchronous code.
These are just some of the notable features introduced in Java 8. They brought significant improvements to the language, making it more expressive, concise, and capable of handling modern programming paradigms such as functional programming and asynchronous programming.