What is the Difference between Java 8 v/s Java 11?
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Java 8 is a version of Java that was available to the public in March 2014. Java 11 was a version of Java made publicly available on September 25, 2018. It provides Long Term Support (LTS) with new and updated features.
Java 11 supports local variable var for lambda expressions, pattern recognition, ChaCha20, and ChaCha20-Poly1305 Cipher cryptographic algorithms. Deprecations of Java Applet and Java Web Start were in the later version. Java FX introduced in Java 8 got removed from Java 11. Let us dive deep into the features of the latest LTS version.
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The new features in Java version 8
In Java version 8, oracle switched away from the Binary code license. This JDK version gets licensed under GNU General Public License version 2.
It provides a commercial license named Oracle Technology Network License Agreement (ONTLA) to Oracle technology and services.
Several significant changes come along with major transformations in Java 8. Let's have a look at a few of them.
- It supports Lambda expressions that add methods to interfaces without impacting the existing implementations.
- Functional style operations get enabled by the support of lambda expressions on the stream of elements such as MapReduce.
- It provides a Date and Time API that supports time concepts like time, date, time-zone, and instant time. It also defines a calender API for the Java platform.
- Implementation of a Javascript Engine named Nashorn gets integrated into the JDK. It is made available on all Java applications using the javax.script API or a new command-line tool.
- It makes use of the arithmetic defined on Unsigned integers.
- Java 8 supports the enhancement of command line launchers that support the launch of JavaFX applications.
The new features introduced in Java version 11
Java 11 has brought numerous new features with its release. Let's have a look at some of them.
- It introduces nest-based access control aligning with the nested types in Java programming language.
- It introduces a No-op garbage collector named epsilon to handle memory allocation without any actual memory reclamation mechanism.
- Formal parameters of implicit lambda expressions get replaced by the local variable, var.
- It upgraded the existing APIs according to the 10th version of the Unicode standard.
- It provides ChaCha20 and ChaCha20-Poly1305 Cipher cryptographic algorithms implemented in the SunJCE provider.
Deprecations and Other Changes
- The support of Java Applet ended in March 2019 as Java developers migrated from plugin-free web-start technologies, which resulted in its deprecation in Java SE 9 and removal in Java SE 11.
- Oracle deprecated Java Web Start in Java SE 11 in March 2018 to transition to alternative deployment technologies for developers.
- Oracle will remove JavaFX from JDK 11 as the OpenFX community will now be responsible for the growth of the technology.
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We have already discussed key features in Java 8 and Java 11. Let us look at the key differences in both versions of Java.
| Java 8 | Java 11 |
|---|---|
| Java version 8 supports the Applet Viewer tool. | Applet API has been deprecated from Java 11 as it does not support Java browser plugins. |
| Java 8 does not support pattern recognition. | Java 11 supports pattern recognition by using methods such as asMatchPredicate(). |
| Java 8 contained methods such as Files.lines() and Files.write() to return the content of a file and write text to a file. | Java 11 contained methods such as writeString(), readString(), and isSameFile() to perform read, write and search operations on the file. |
| Oracle JDK in Java 8 contains the JMC and JavaFX tools. | Oracle JDK in Java 11 removed JMC and JavaFX. |
Several Reasons Why One Should Upgrade from Java 8 to Java 11
There are many reasons why we should upgrade from Java version 8 to Java 11. Here's a list of a few of them that will help you decide better.
- Applications in the later versions of Java 8 are faster and more secure than before.
- Garbage collection has improved due to garbage collectors like ZGC and Epsilon.
- Including the var keyword in the language made the code and development process simple and user-friendly.
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The Migration Process
You can migrate from Java 8 to Java 11 using the following options:
- Migrating from Java 8 to Java 11 with commercial restrictions
- Migrating from Java 8 to Java 11 OpenJDK 11 with free distributions
You can change the Java version in your pom.xml file with the following code: <java.version>1.8 </java.version> to <java.version>11 </java.version>
Here, in Java version 1.8, 8 is the product version number, and its developer version is 1.8. Both of these numbers refer to Java JDK 8.
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You can learn more about related topics using articles on Scaler Topics.
Conclusion
- Java 8 is a version of Java released in March 2014, while Java 11 is a version of Java released on September 25, 2018.
- Java 11 has new and updated features with the latest LTS version.
- Java 11 has a local variable var to replace the lambda expressions in Java 8.
- Java 11 removed Applet API, which got deprecated in Java 9 for security reasons.
- Oracle deprecated Java web start in Java 11 to find alternative deployment technologies for developers.
- Oracle removed JavaFX from Java 11 as the OpenFX community took responsibility for the growth of the technology.
- Java 11 has improved garbage collection due to garbage collectors like ZGC and Epsilon.
- Thus, applications in Java 11 are faster and more secure than in Java 8.