Java version history

This article is about the Java programming language. For other uses, see History of Java.

The Java language has undergone several changes since JDK 1.0 as well as numerous additions of classes and packages to the standard library. Since J2SE 1.4, the evolution of the Java language has been governed by the Java Community Process (JCP), which uses Java Specification Requests (JSRs) to propose and specify additions and changes to the Java platform. The language is specified by the Java Language Specification (JLS); changes to the JLS are managed under JSR 901. In September 2017, Mark Reinhold, chief Architect of the Java Platform, proposed to change the release train to "one feature release every six months" rather than the then-current two-year schedule.[1][2] This proposal took effect for all following versions, and is still the current release schedule.

In addition to the language changes, other changes have been made to the Java Class Library over the years, which has grown from a few hundred classes in JDK 1.0 to over three thousand in J2SE 5. Entire new APIs, such as Swing and Java2D, have been introduced, and many of the original JDK 1.0 classes and methods have been deprecated, and very few APIs have been removed (at least one, for threading, in Java 22[3]). Some programs allow the conversion of Java programs from one version of the Java platform to an older one (for example Java 5.0 backported to 1.4) (see Java backporting tools).

Regarding Oracle's Java SE support roadmap,[4] Java SE 23 is the latest version, while versions 21, 17, 11 and 8 are the currently supported long-term support (LTS) versions, where Oracle Customers will receive Oracle Premier Support. Oracle continues to release no-cost public Java 8 updates for development[4] and personal use indefinitely. Oracle also continues to release no-cost public Java 17 LTS updates for all users, including commercial and production use until September 2024.[5]

In the case of OpenJDK, both commercial long-term support and free software updates are available from multiple organizations in the broader community.[6]

Java 23 was released on September 17, 2024.

  1. ^ Reinhold, Mark (2017-09-06). "Moving Java Forward Faster". Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  2. ^ "Calling 'all aboard' on the six-month Java release train". theserverside.com. 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2017-09-16.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference removed_API_in Java_22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference oracle was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Smith, Donald. "Introducing the Free Java License".
  6. ^ Reinhold, Mark (2018-08-17). "What does LTS mean for OpenJDK?". Retrieved 2018-08-28.