As with past Java releases such as Java 7 [1], Java 8 was first made available through the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) to give developers adequate time for testing and certification before being made available on the java.com website for end users to download. Java 8 has been well-received [2] since its release in March 2014. It was followed by the JDK 8u5 and JDK 8u11 Critical Patch Updates and, most recently, JDK 8u20 in August.
The JDK 8u20 release continues to improve [3] upon the significant advances made in JDK 8 with new features, security and performance optimizations such as the new Advanced Management Console, the updated Java Mission Control 5.4, and the new MSI Enterprise JRE installer.
As part of the effort to make the transition to Java 8 smooth for end users, we have been publishing Early Access builds of update releases at jdk8.java.net. These enable developers to test their applications ahead of a release and regularly provide feedback during the development cycle. We are working both with ISVs through the Oracle Java CAP Program [4] and the broader open source Java developer community through OpenJDK [5], including popular open source projects [6] such as Scala, Groovy and Apache Lucene.
As a result, I am pleased to see that Java 8 enjoys a nice uptake among developers [7]. For example, there are thousands [8] of open source projects written in the Java programming language building and testing against JDK 8 already. As another example, Linux distributions such as Fedora are working to switch [9] their collections of Java-based libraries and applications to use Java 8 as the default runtime. Scala developers have announced plans to move [10] to Java 8 in a future release, as well.
That is an amazing community response within less than six months of a major Java platform release!
Based on our experience so far, I expect Java 8 to be ready to debut as the default Java runtime on java.com before the end of 2014, and the process of migrating users from Java 7 to Java 8 through the auto update feature to take place during the first half of 2015. I will have more to share on that as we prepare for the transition.
If you’re a Java developer and you haven’t yet started to prepare, now would be a good time to take JDK 8u20 for a spin! And if you are feeling brave, maybe even one of the Early Access builds of JDK 8u40. [11]
[1] https://blogs.oracle.com/henrik/entry/moving_to_java_7_as
[2] http://adtmag.com/articles/2014/03/18/java-8-arrives.aspx
[3] https://blogs.oracle.com/java/entry/release_oracle_java_development_kit
[4] http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/index-jsp-137266.html
[5] https://wiki.openjdk.java.net/display/Adoption/Quality+Outreach
[6] http://mreinhold.org/blog/jdk8-ga
[7] http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/internetofthings/java8-m2m-iot-article-2203191.pdf
[8] https://github.com/search?l=yaml&q=oraclejdk8&type=Code&utf8=%E2%9C%93
[9] https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Changes/Java8
[10] http://www.infoq.com/articles/Scala-2-12-Only-Java8
[11] http://jdk8.java.net