What are the key features introduced in Java 8?

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Ashutosh Patel · Answer

key features of Java 8

ava 8 introduced several key features and enhancements to the language and its APIs. Here are the main features introduced in Java 8,

Lambda Expressions

Lambda expressions specify a shortcut to anonymous function expressions. They enable programming features that work in Java and make it easy to iterate, filter, and manipulate data through collections.

Example-

List<Integer> numbers = Arrays.asList(1, 2, 3, 4, 5);
numbers.forEach(num -> System.out.println(num));

Stream API
Streams provide an alternative way to work with collections in Java. They allow you to manipulate collections automatically, using methods such as map(), filter(), reduce(), etc. Streams can be sequential or independent parallels, using multi-core architecture for increased performance

Example-

List<String> names = Arrays.asList("John", "Jane", "Adam", "Emily");
long count = names.stream()
                 .filter(name -> name.startsWith("J"))
                 .count();
System.out.println("Count of names starting with 'J': " + count);

Functional interface
Functional interfaces are interfaces that have exactly one abstract method. They can be mentioned with @FunctionalInterface. Lambda expressions can be used to model these interactions.

Example-

@FunctionalInterface
interface MyFunctionalInterface {
   void doSomething();
}
MyFunctionalInterface func = () -> System.out.println("Doing something");
func.doSomething();

Default methods on interfaces
Interfaces can then have default methods, providing a default implementation that can be overridden by using classes. This feature allows backups to work without disrupting existing functionality.

Example-

interface MyInterface {
   default void defaultMethod() {
       System.out.println("Default method implementation");
   }
}
class MyClass implements MyInterface {
   // MyClass can override defaultMethod if needed
}

Optional Class
Optional is a container object that may or may not contain a non-null value. It helps avoid null pointer exceptions and encourages developers to handle null values explicitly.

Example-

Optional<String> maybeName = Optional.ofNullable(getName());
String name = maybeName.orElse("Default Name");
System.out.println("Name: " + name);

Method References
A method of writing for a method of specifying methods or architects without calling them. They are shorthand for lambda expressions and can make the code more readable.

Example-

List<String> names = Arrays.asList("John", "Jane", "Adam", "Emily");
names.forEach(System.out::println);

Date and Time API (java.time package)
Java 8 introduced a new Date and Time API that addresses the shortcomings of the older java.util.Date and java.util.Calendar classes. The new API provides classes such as LocalDate, LocalTime, and LocalDateTime to handle datetime operations in a fluid and immutable way.

Example-

LocalDate today = LocalDate.now();
System.out.println("Today's date: " + today);

Parallel Array Sorting
Java 8 introduces new methods in the Arrays class that use the Fork/Join process to provide parallel sorting of an array, which can improve performance on multi-core processors

Example-

int[] numbers = {5, 3, 8, 1, 2};
Arrays.parallelSort(numbers);
System.out.println("Sorted numbers: " + Arrays.toString(numbers));

Java 8 brought significant improvements aimed at making Java code more transparent, concise, and robust. Lambda instructions, the Stream API, and the Date-Time API are among the major features that have fundamentally changed the way Java applications are designed, especially in terms of programming models and handling date/time functions

Also, Read: What is the difference between Callable and Runnable in Java?

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key features of Java 8