In 2014, Oracle Corporation released Java 8 on 18 March, which was another milestone release for the Java ecosystem. Java is already the most modern, statically typed, object oriented language available for fast software development, but  in Java 8 new  important enhancements are added to to the language, such as lambda expressions, streams processing, and default methods.

JavaFX 8 was also released with Java8 edition, advancing desktop Java applications more than ever. JavaFX 8 enables developing rich desktop and Internet applications using the Java language, or any other language that executes on the JVM. It empowers a rich set of graphical and media user interfaces to develop extraordinary visual applications. This release is another important update to the JavaFX platform, adding in features such as the Swing node and the Print API.

Lambda Expressions

Java 8 has introduced a magnitude of new features, making it one of the most significant releases of Java in years. Now we can pass functionality as a method argument by utilizing a lambda expression to incorporate the action functionality using compact, inline syntax. Lambda expressions are one of the new and power packed features of Java 8 that will have a tremendous impact on productivity and business logic. These Lambda expressions are anonymous blocks of code that accept zero or more parameters, encapsulate a series of statements or an expression, and return a result. They are very identical to closures from other languages, being anonymous functions that can be passed into other code as needed.

Date Time API

A new Date-Time API has been introduced and added in Java 8 which was developed under JSR 310. The Date-Time API uses the calendar defined in ISO-8601 as the default calendar. Thus, the calendar is based on the Gregorian calendar system. The Date-Time API adheres to several design principles in an effort to be clear, fluent, immutable, and extensible. The API uses a clear language that is concise and very well defined. It is also very fluent, so code dealing with date-time data is easy to read and understand.

Streams API

Collections play an integral role in many Java applications. The release of Java 8 introduced the Streams API, which changes the way that collections of data can be used, making solutions more productive and maintainable. The Streams API allows us to traverse over a collection of elements and perform aggregate operations, pipeline two or more operations, perform parallel execution, and more.

JavaFX

JavaFX has undergone a massive overhaul with the release of Java 8. For starters, it is now included with Java 8 SE, so there is no longer a need to download it separately. Multiple new components have been added to the platform, including a DatePicker and new SwingNode for embedding Swing inside of JavaFX. There is also better embedded support for deployment on platforms such as the Raspberry Pi. Other new features include WebView enhancements, printing support, rich text support, and the list goes on.

Scripting

The Java platform has had support for embedding and/or executing JavaScript files since the release of Java 1.6, and the JavaScript engine was Rhino. The Rhino engine served us well for years, but now an updated JavaScript engine named Nashorn has entered the scene. The Nashorn engine brings with it many updates, including support for the ECMAScript-262 Edition 5.1 language specification, a new command-line utility for interactive interpretation or JavaScript file execution, and full access to the JavaFX 8 API.

Other Enhancements

Now we can also provide a Default Method Implementation in an Interface. And, Apply the Same Annotation Multiple Times in a Declaration or Type Use using @Repeatable.