Happy New Year!

As we step into 2024, let's take a look back at the innovations, events and news that shaped December 2023, and gear up for an exciting year ahead!
Read below for a summary of the most newsworthy, useful and interesting Java industry news, conferences & events, new guides and tutorials.

Java has been a staple in the software development world for decades, renowned for its robustness and vast ecosystem. However, some seasoned Java developers have encountered limitations within its collections framework, particularly when dealing with ordered elements. Enter JEP 431. JEP 431, part of the Java Enhancement Proposal system, represents a significant advancement in Java's ongoing evolution. The Java Enhancement Proposal system is a process for proposing, reviewing, and implementing new features in the Java programming language. JEP 431, in particular, introduces necessary enhancements to the Java Collections Framework, addressing longstanding limitations and expanding its capabilities for us Java developers.

In this podcast episode, we’d like to invite you to listen to the conversation we recently had with Ken Fogel. Ken is a well known expert in Java and Jakarta EE industry, he’s been working with Java for over 20 years.  Unsurprisingly, he is also a Java Champion, and a Java Community Process Executive Committee member. He is an active conference organizer, very prominent and active in the Java, Java EE and Jakarta EE community.

So there’s no wonder why we had to invite him to our podcast!

Head over toSpotifyorYouTube to listen to the conversation and subscribe for more episodes! 

It's time for the November Payara Monthly Catch! Our monthly news roundup ensures you get the best news of Java, Jakarta EE, MicroProfile, and open source. 

Let's have a look at the most interesting and important news from last month.

Our pioneering virtual business and technology conference will take place on December 14th.  Gain unique insight into Jakarta EE from the best in the business!

We have designed the programme to cater to all levels of Jakarta EE knowledge - learn as a leader! The day-long program has a focus on educating Java professionals and business leaders about the power and potential of Jakarta EE. 

The conference is totally virtual, so you can join from anywhere in the world. You can also pick and choose which sessions to join, and all those who registered will be able to access recordings to watch at their leisure.

Read on for the full schedule...

Java's journey towards fostering more expressive and efficient code has taken a remarkable leap with the advent of Record Patterns, encapsulated in JEP 440. This feature, previewed in both Java 19 and Java 20, is now a part of the language from Java 21, marking a significant stride towards reducing the verbosity traditionally associated with Java language. In this post, we will delve into the essence of Record Patterns, take a look at its benefits, and explore how it fits in with the existing pattern matching capabilities of Java.

In the world of programming, stepping stones are crucial for novices to transition into proficient developers. This journey often begins with understanding the syntax and semantics of a given programming language. Java, being one of the popular programming languages, has always aimed to be an effective medium for both novices and experienced developers. The recent release of Java 21 introduced a core feature, known as Unnamed Classes and Instance Main Methods through JEP 445, aimed at simplifying the learning curve for new programmers, making it easier for them to write their first program without much fanfare and verbosity.

Java 21 introduces the Foreign Function and Memory (FFM) API, which allows Java programs to interoperate with code and data outside the Java runtime. Java operates within a managed environment known as the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The JVM serves as an abstraction layer between the executing Java code and the underlying hardware and OS. One of the core design principles behind the JVM is to provide a secure and isolated environment for Java applications to run. This isolation is beneficial for several reasons, including security and stability; it mitigates risks such as unauthorized access to system resources or memory corruption, which could lead to vulnerabilities like buffer overflows.

Developers use MySQL databases in every corner of the world to create cloud-based applications. As they continually look for tools that offer better scalability, performance, and flexibility, many are pairing MySQL with the JSON data format.

Combined, these provide a wealth of benefits for developers. We’re going to briefly examine the ins and outs of MySQL and JSON to get you up to speed, then take a look at some of the things you can achieve using them together.

With Java 21 released today and Jakarta EE 11 slated for release in Q1 of 2024, the landscape for Java development is evolving rapidly, particularly in the cloud-native space. Although these two are not being developed together, they are intrinsically linked: Jakarta EE 11 will have Java 21 as its base Java SE version. This blog post will explore what these two significant releases bring to the table individually and how they can collectively enhance cloud native Java development.