Devoxx is some kind of obligatory pilgrimage for Java developers, at least European. Antwerp is a bit like the forest of the Carnutes. Every year at this time, the druids of Java development, Web, Android, gather there, attracted by a strange call.
Once again this year the tribes came from many countries, more than fourty, and from far beyond the seas. This year again, the high priests were there, and brought us the good word. Because by next year we will have a new version of Java, the 8th, the long-awaited 8th should I say. Being there to present this new version is a challenge, both on the strategic and business sides for Oracle.
So Java 8 arrives, in a bit more than four months at the time of publication of this blog, even if with the version available today, one can begin to learn the new APIs, including Stream and Collectors. Because yes, with the arrival of Java 8, we will have to sharpen our knowledge. New things there are: the language changes, the APIs and the patterns. And even if it affects us less as developers, the JVM itself changes.
With the presence of Mark Reinhold, Brian Goetz and Paul Sandoz, Devoxx 2013 was undoubtedly the best opportunity to make an inventory of all this. Brian described the whys of everything, tracing the path of his thoughts. Paul explained how the Stream API works internally. An expert speaking, since he is the one who wrote the Stream API. And finally, Mark gave us the road map of the development of Jigsaw, or what remains of it, or more precisely what it will become.
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What really stricked me in Devoxx this year is the real momentum around Java 8. I cannot remember any version of Java that arrived with such enthousiasm. All the Java SE 8 talks were packed, the “Ask the expert panel” was packed, and the prospective talk by Brian Goetz was packed too. Java developers want to get to know Java 8 better, want to learn about the new patterns built on lambdas and streams, and they also want to know what lies ahead for us.