'Java 9, It Did Break Some Things': Oracle Bod Admits To Developers Still Clinging To Version 8

Java has a problem -- the language and platform is evolving faster than ever, but many developers are stuck on the five-year-old Java 8. From a report: So why have developers not upgraded? Simply, Java 9 introduced major changes, including internal restructuring, new modularity (known as 'Project Jigsaw'), and the removal of little-used APIs. These changes broke code, and even developers who are happy to make the necessary revisions have dependency issues. 'We have problems with libraries that do not yet support the latest versions,' said one QCon attendee.

'I want to explain why it was necessary,' said Oracle's Ron Pressler, part of the Java platform group developing the language and lead for Project Loom. 'There are billions of lines of code in Java, and Java 9, it did break some things. The reason is that Java is 20-something years old. It will probably be big and popular in another 20 years. We have to think 20 years ahead. The way the JDK was structured prior to Java 9 was just unmaintainable. We could not keep Java competitive if we had not done that change. That was an absolute necessity.'

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