JDK 17: The new features in Java 17

A new rendering pipeline for MacOS and a uniform API for pseudo random number generators are planned for the Java long-term support release due in September.

Editor at Large, InfoWorld |

JDK 17: The new features in Java 17 — Thinkstock

Due in September, Java 17 continues to take shape, with four features planned for the upgrade to standard Java so far plus one feature removal and a feature deprecation. In the latest change, as of May 10, the sealed classes capability previewed in both Java 15 and Java 16 will be finalized.

Java Development Kit (JDK) 17 will be a long-term-support (LTS) release, with extended support from Oracle expected for several years.

Features filed as part of OpenJDK’s JDK 17 include:

In coming months, it’s likely more features will be proposed for JDK 17. Possibilities include a foreign linker API, a vector API, and a foreign-memory access API, all of which are currently in an incubator stage in the JDK 16 release published March 16. Pattern matching could be the focus of JDK 17 proposals, as well.

September 14 has been slated as the general availability date for JDK 17. The production release will be preceded by rampdown phases in June and July and release candidates in August. Early-access open source builds of JDK 17 can be found at jdk.java.net.

LTS releases such as JDK 17 arrive every three years. The last LTS release, JDK 11, was published in September 2018. New releases of Java arrive every six months.

Paul Krill is an editor at large at InfoWorld, whose coverage focuses on application development.