Oracle Unveils New Java 9 Proposals -- ADTmag

Oracle Unveils New Java 9 Proposals

By John K. Waters
December 3, 2014

Oracle recently announced four new enhancement proposals for Java 9. The list of JEPs (JDK Enhancements Proposals) includes a new common logging system for JVM components, a series of control options for finer-grained control of the Hotspot JIT compiler, and the removal of three outdated garbage collection combinations.

JEP 158 (Unified JVM Logging) introduces a common logging system to the Java Virtual Machine, overhauling the way the JVM reports events in its subsystems, and adding common logging command-line options for loggers. This JEP was "heavily influenced by what exists in [Oracle's JVM] JRockit," the proposal states. JEP 165 (Compiler Control) seeks to "improve control of the JVM compilers by encapsulating control into a set of options," the JEP states. It also adds the ability to change the option sets during run time. And JEP 214 (Remove GC Combinations Deprecated in JDK 8) rids Java 9 of the Garbage Collection combinations previously deprecated in JDK 8 (DefNew + CMS, ParNew + SerialOld, and Incremental CMS).

JEP 213 (Milling Project Coin) has also been updated. This JEP aims to smooth out some "rough edges" on Project Coin (JSR 334), which implemented some small languages changes in JDK 7. "This JEP does not propose to run a 'Coin 2.0' effort or to generally solicit new language proposals," the proposal states.

Created in 2011, Oracle's JEP Process allows for the development of small, targeted features for the Java language and virtual machine outside the Java Community Process (JCP), which requires full Java Specification Requests (JSRs). The process was modified in via JEP 2.0 in 2013.

The company revealed three proposed new APIs for Java 9 in August: Light-Weight JSON API (JEP 198), which would provide a light-weight API for consuming and generating JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) documents and data streams; HTTP 2 Client (JEP 110), which would define a new hypertext markup protocol client API that implements HTTP 2.0 and would replace the problematic HttpURLConneftion API; and Process API Updates (JEP 102), which would improve the API for controlling and managing operating system processes, circumventing the limitations of the current API, which "often forces developers to resort to native code," the JEP states.

About the Author

John K. Waters is the editor in chief of a number of Converge360.com sites, with a focus on high-end development, AI and future tech. He's been writing about cutting-edge technologies and culture of Silicon Valley for more than two decades, and he's written more than a dozen books. He also co-scripted the documentary film Silicon Valley: A 100 Year Renaissance, which aired on PBS. He can be reached at [email protected].