Java 7 is here!

I've been looking forward to Java 7 for a long time and it is finally here! This release is jam-packed with new features and I am really excited about trying it out!

There are great additions to the concurrency package such as a fork/join framework, phasers, transfer queues and threadlocal pseudo-random number generators.

Also, as part of Project Coin (JSR 334), JDK7 includes a set of small language changes intended to simplify common, day-to-day programming tasks and reduce boilerplate such as:

• Strings in switch
• Binary integral literals and underscores in numeric literals
• Multi-catch and more precise rethrow
• Improved Type Inference for Generic Instance Creation (diamond)
• try-with-resources statement
• Simplified Varargs Method Invocation

For a full list of changes take a look at the release notes.

I'm going to be writing about the new features in Java 7 as I learn about them, so stay tuned!