Java SE 8 is perhaps the largest change to Java in its history, led by its flagship feature—lambda expressions. If you’re an experienced developer looking to adopt Java 8 at work, this short guide will walk you through all of the major changes before taking a deep dive into lambda expressions and Java 8’s other big feature: the Streams API.
Author Raoul-Gabriel Urma explains how improved code readability and support for multicore processors were the prime movers behind Java 8 features. He’ll quickly get you up to speed on new classes including CompleteableFuture and Optional, along with enhanced interfaces and the new Date and Time API. You’ll also:
- Understand why lambda expressions are considered a kind of anonymous function
- Learn how lambda expressions and the behavior parameterization pattern let you write flexible and concise code
- Discover various operations and data processing patterns possible when using the Streams API
- Use Collector recipes to write queries that are more sophisticated
- Consider factors such as data size and the number of cores available when using streams in parallel
- Work with a practical refactoring example to bring lambda expressions and streams into focus