Oracle announces Java 16

Oracle has announced the availability of Java 16 (Oracle

JDK 16), including 17 new enhancements to the platform that will further improve developer productivity. The latest Java Development Kit (JDK) finalises Pattern Matching for instanceof (JEP 394) and Records (JEP

395), language enhancements that were first previewed in Java

14. Developers can use the new Packaging Tool (JEP 392) to ship self-contained Java applications and explore three incubating features. These are the Vector API (JEP 338), the Foreign Linker

API (JEP 389), and the ForeignMemory Access API (JEP 389), and one preview feature, Sealed Classes (JEP 397).

Oracle delivers Java updates every six months to provide developers with a predictable release schedule. It said that this offers a steady stream of innovations while also delivering continued performance, stability and security improvements, increasing Java’s pervasiveness across organisations and industries of all sizes.

Georges Saab, vice president of development, Java Platform Group, Oracle, said, “The power of the six-month release cadence was on full display with the latest release. Pattern Matching and Records were introduced a year ago as part of JDK 14 and have since gone through multiple rounds of community feedback based on realworld applications. This process has not only given Java developers the opportunity to experiment with these features before they were finalised, but also incorporated that critical feedback which has resulted in two rock-solid JEPs that truly meet the needs of the community.”