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An interesting look at Java language changes http://blog.codefx.org/java/dev/future-java-might-look-like/

The JVM Language Summit 2015 just happened. The videos are already up on YouTube. It is a very technical conference with the JVM wizards, on such topics as JVM languages and the future of the JVM.

Charles Oliver Nutter - Fast as C: How to write really terrible Java In this talk, we’ll explore the main reasons why Java code rarely runs as fast as C or C++ and how you can write really bad Java code that the JVM will do a better job of optimizing. We’ll take some popular microbenchmarks and burn them to the ground, monitoring JIT logs and assembly dumps along the way. vimeo Java talk video

InfoWorld has a great article reflecting on the importance of Java: InfoWorld: Java at 20: How it changed programming forever

It's amazing to hear that Java is 20 years old already. If you used it and took a break and now want to get back into Java again, the following link could help as a learning refresher: JavaWorld: Learn Java from the ground up Java 20th anniversary #Java20 Update Your Skills for the 20 Years of Java

Java has evolved a lot over 20 years, the latest Java 8 is another large evolution of the JVM and the language. Java Source says that it's time to update your Java skills :-) Update Your Skills for the 20 Years of Java

A couple of videos about how you could contribute to the Java platform. Talks about the JCP and OpenJDK: How to Contribute to the Java Platform

The Eclipse Developer’s guide to Clean Code (part 1) The Eclipse Developer’s guide to Clean Code (part 2)

Advice on removing javac lint warnings

Brian Goetz blog post: State of the Specialization

This is just a reminder that an excellent Java security resource is available here: The CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java Here is an example: TPS03-J. Ensure that tasks executing in a thread pool do not fail silently On a recent project I was asked to look at, I could not work out why exceptions were being ignored. I eventually found the above link via a web search. I found it interesting and it was the solution to the problem.

http://tech.puredanger.com/java7

I'm personally going to stick with Java 7 for a while mainly due to work & there is still a lot to learn (for me at least) about Java 5, 6 and 7 before tackling 8. But it looks like the JLS and JVM specs are updated to Java 8 level here: HTML & PDF and PDF diffs from Java 7 http://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/

Java Developer Day is coming up in May, it looks like it's going to be repeated 3 times for 3 different time zones. This appears to be a day to cover lots of technical info. with sessions for developers keen to learn more about Java 8, Java SE and Java EE. https://blogs.oracle.com/java/entry/virtual_developer_day_java_2014

O'Reilly programming blog has a good article about the very recently released Java 8: Java 8, now what? What you'll need to know to start your Java 8 migration process today Java 8, now what?

It seems like only yesterday that Java 7 was released, books are still being updated to Java 7 (although some books will skip 7 and will focus instead on Java 8). It's still an exciting time to be a Java developer.  Java 8 is a whole new refresh. https://blogs.oracle.com/java/entry/java_se_8_is_now Oracle: Java SE 8 Oracle: What's new in Java 8 JDK 8 release notes

This excellent article from Zeroturnaround about how Java 8 could transform your code base has finally got me intrigued about Java 8. At work we use Java 6 everywhere and that was a struggle to get them to upgrade to that, luckily they have made noises about maybe moving to Java 7 this or next year. Some guys that are thinking of getting Java certification are going for the Java 6 route, whereas I am more interested in how the new Java 7 features can help us. But even Java 7 isn't new. Companies move a lot slower to adopt new versions of Java perhaps. http://zeroturnaround.com/rebellabs/what-migrating-to-java-8-will-do-to-your-codebase-a-practical-example/ IMHO, Java 8 looks set to revolutionise Java. JavaOne 2013 Roundup: Java 8 is Revolutionary, Java is back

An excellent write up on Java features introduced in Java 1.4, Java 5 and later... JavaWorld: The essential Java language features tour, Part 1

Here is a really interesting Java advent calendar with lots of interesting, technical articles: e.g. http://www.javaadvent.com/2013/12/mastering-java-bytecode.html http://www.javaadvent.com/2013/12/anatomy-of-java-decompiler.html http://www.javaadvent.com/2013/12/applying-forkjoin-from-optimal-to-fast.html

After listening to JavaPosse Episode 79 , I realised that I wasn't the only one to think that the new Java 5.0 language features are scary and challenging. The section was called "Were the Java 5 features a bad idea?" and the related links are : Shai's Weblog : Java 5.0 languages features were a bad idea JavaLobby: Java 5.0 language features ServerSide: Autoboxing and NPE My knowledge is still around Java 1.3.x level, and I'm learning slowly about the new features. Asserts look like a good Java 1.4/5.0 addition. The Java 5.0 additions that look good to me are : - for each syntax - handy and I wonder if faster due to the compiler knowing the bounds and not needing the array bounds checking ? Enums - they look really useful printf format - looks really good and powerful, better than the C one StringBuilder more robust collection framework not sure about boxing/unboxing - although at first glance looks okay generics - looks horrible & as complicated as C++ tem...