Upcoming features of Java 17

Java 17 will be released in September 2021, let's see the features coming with long-term support (LTS) version of Java. Java 17 is going to be an LTS version and will be supported for many years.

Upcoming features of Java 17

Java 17 will be released in September 2021, let's see the features coming with long-term support (LTS) version of Java. Java 17 is going to be an LTS version and will be supported for many years.

Upcoming features of Java 17

Exploring the features of upcoming Java 17, which is scheduled to be released in September 2021

Java 16 is already released as short-term supported version and it will be obsolete once Java 17 is released in September 2021. People are already talking about the upcoming Java/JDK, which will be a long-term supported version of the Java programming language. In this tutorial we are going to explore the new features of Java 17, which is coming in September 2021.

Here we are discussing the proposed feature of Java/JDK 17, which is going to a a long-term (LTS) version of the JDK to be released in September 2021.

Java 17 will be long-term support (LTS) version

The much awaited Java/JDK 17 will be released long-term support (LTS) version like Java 18 and Java 11. The LTS version of JDK is released every 3 years, while non-LTS version of Java is released every six months. The LTS released is supported for several months while non-LTS version is supported only for six months.

Java 17 Features

JDK enhancements and new features coming with JDK 17

Now we will discuss the enhancements and features coming with the long-term supported JDK 17:

JEP 398 Deprecate the Applet API for Removal

In the JDK 17, the Applet API will be deprecated which means that Applet will be removed in subsequent versions of Java.  Probably it might be removed in the JDK 18. Many browsers have either ended the support for Applet or planning to do so. So, Java is also going to remove Applet in future versions.

Once any API is marked as deprecated it means that in future version API might change or it might be removed all together from the Java/JDK. So, it's the beginning of the end of life of the famous Java Applet which were used to develop Browser enabled  Java Applications.

JEP 391: macOS/AArch64 Port

Through JEP 391 Java will be ported to the ARM64/AArch64 architecture. Apple will start using the Apple-designed CPU which will be based on the ARM64/AArch64 architecture.

JEP 356: Java to bring Enhanced Pseudo-Random Number Generators

The JEP 356 process introduced a new interface type. The Java 17 brings the implementation for pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs). Along with the pseudorandom number generators (PRNGs) API, the Java 17 also includes the feature for generation of umpable PRNGs and an additional class of splittable PRNG algorithms (LXM).

Java 17 includes LXM family of PRNG algorithms:

  1. L32X64MixRandom
  2. L32X64StarStarRandom
  3. L64X128MixRandom
  4. L64X128StarStarRandom
  5. L64X256MixRandom
  6. L64X1024MixRandom
  7. L128X128MixRandom
  8. L128X256MixRandom
  9. L128X1024MixRandom

JEP 382: New macOS Rendering Pipeline

Java 17 is implementing a Java 2D internal rendering pipeline for macOS operating systems, which will replace the deprecated Apple OpenGL API. The new Java 2D internal rendering pipeline will use the  new Apple Metal framework.

Here is the release schedule for JDK :

  • 2021-06-10 Rampdown Phase One (fork from main line)
  • 2021-07-15 Rampdown Phase Two
  • 2021-08-05 Initial Release Candidate
  • 2021-08-19 Final Release Candidate
  • 2021-09-14 General Availability

Once this is released it will be available for download from Oracle and OpenJDK websites.

Check: