If the five new features in the new JDK don’t excite you, just remember the next JDK is only six months away Credit: Thinkstock Oracle’s shift from doing a major release of standard Java every three years to doing releases every six months, a plan announced in September 2017, has resulted in versions with far fewer new capabilities than before. And that are perhaps far less interesting. Java Development Kit (JDK) 13, due in September, has just five new features, including a preview of text blocks and an enhancement to the Z garbage collector. Now in a rampdown phase in its development, JDK 13 follows JDK 12, released in March. JDK 12 had eight new features, including a preview of switch expressions. Compare JDK 12 and JDK 13 to JDK 9, released in September 2017, which listed roughly 90 new features, chief among them modularity, a REPL, and compiler improvements. Of course, JDK 9 came three-and-a-half years after JDK 8 arrived in March 2014. The new release cadence, intended to get features out faster, thus has made Java upgrades less dramatic than they once were. Fewer features gives Java shops more leeway to pass on the latest upgrade and wait for a more monumental release down the road. By the same token, users may not have to wait as long for a specific new feature, with the next release of Java always just around the corner. With the six-month release cadence, Oracle also introduced a distinction between “non-LTS” feature releases, which receive support only until the next feature release, and “LTS” (long-term support) releases, which arrive every three years and receive extended support. The current LTS release, JDK 11, arrived September 2018, will be supported until September 2026. Oracle JDK releases have been turning up every six months since JDK 10 in March 2018. After JDK 13 ships, JDK 14 is due presumably in March 2020. The JDK 14 status page does not yet cite any planned features. But based on what we’ve seen in the most-recent releases, developers awaiting JDK 14 should not expect more than a tiny handful of improvements once again. Related content analysis Beyond the usual suspects: 5 fresh data science tools to try today The mid-month report includes quick tips for easier Python installation, a new VS Code-like IDE just for Python and R users, and five newer data science tools you won't want to miss. By Serdar Yegulalp Jul 12, 2024 2 mins Python Programming Languages Software Development analysis Generative AI won’t fix cloud migration You’ve probably heard how generative AI will solve all cloud migration problems. It’s not that simple. Generative AI could actually make it harder and more costly. By David Linthicum Jul 12, 2024 5 mins Generative AI Artificial Intelligence Cloud Computing news HR professionals trust AI recommendations HireVue survey finds 73% of HR professionals trust AI to make candidate recommendations, while 75% of workers are opposed to AI making hiring decisions. By Paul Krill Jul 11, 2024 3 mins Technology Industry Careers how-to Safety off: Programming in Rust with `unsafe` What does it mean to write unsafe code in Rust, and what can you do (and not do) with the 'unsafe' keyword? The facts may surprise you. By Serdar Yegulalp Jul 11, 2024 8 mins Rust Programming Languages Software Development Resources Videos