Java 17 (21.9 LTS)

Java 17 is a feature release which will obsolete Java 16 and became a long-term support (LTS) release of Java on its introduction in September 2021.

Current status: Early Access

Page last updated: 2021-03-01, EA 11

Schedule: TBD

Resources

• Java 17 Early-Access Builds (note: OpenJDK builds only; no Oracle builds)
• Release notes
• Jave SE 17 Platform

Selected Changes Targeted to Java 17

• JEP 356: Enhanced Pseudo-Random Number Generators
• JEP 382: New macOS Rendering Pipeline
• JDK-8235139: Deprecate the socket impl factory mechanism
• JDK-8259801: Enable XML Signature secure validation mode by default

Proposed to Target Java 17

• JEP 398: Deprecate the Applet API for Removal

Significant Changes from Java 11 (18.9 LTS)

The following changes may factor in to our adoption of Java 17 as a new platform, and as a baseline for individual products:

From Java 12:

• JEP 182 and JDK-8028563: no more support for -source/-target/-release 1.6.

From Java 13:

• JDK-8215608: Old Features Removed from javadoc  tool. No more HTML4 API documentation.

From Java 14:

• JEP 361: Switch Expressions (Standard)

From Java 15:

• JEP 372: Remove the Nashorn JavaScript Engine
• JEP 378: Text Blocks (Standard)
• JEP 381: Remove the Solaris and SPARC Ports
• JDK-8237219: Disable native SunEC implementation by default (OSJ-319)

From Java 16:

• JEP 394: Pattern Matching for instanceof
• JEP 395: Records
• JEP 396: Strongly Encapsulate JDK Internals by Default

From Java 17:

• JEP 356: Enhanced Pseudo-Random Number Generators