In an effort to get ARM developers testing Java SE 8 before the scheduled release in late 2013, a Java SE 8 Developer Preview Release for ARM has been made available. This release has been tested on the Raspbian "Wheezy" Linux operating system with ARM v6 hard floating point. In addition to the new Java SE 8 features, it is the hard float GPU support that has been anticipated by a number of developers. Additionally, this release includes support of an optimized JavaFX.
Specific configurations of JDK 8 on ARM are defined below:
- Java FX is supported on ARM architecture v6/7 (hard float)
- Supported platforms without Java FX:
- ARM architecture v6/7 (hard float)
- ARM architecture v7 (VFP, little endian)
- ARM architecture v5 (soft float, little endian)
- Linux x86
There are a few features of the JavaFX API provided with this developer preview are not supported for this release including WebNode, Media, Changing cursor type and Any Java API that requires X11, such as AWT and Swing
The download page includes setup instructions for a Raspberry PI device as well as demos and samples. Developers are also encouraged to try their own applications as well and to share their stories via the JavaFX or Project FeedbackForums.
If you've got a Raspberry PI or other ARM devices it's time to get started with Java SE 8 Developer Preview release.