Preface
Like many Java developers, the first time I heard about lambda expressions it piqued my interest. Also like many others, I was disappointed when it was set back. However, it is better late than never.
Java 8 is a giant step forward for the Java language. Writing this book has forced me to learn a lot more about it. In Project Lambda, Java gets a new closure syntax, method-references, and default methods on interfaces. It manages to add many of the features of functional languages without losing the clarity and simplicity Java developers have come to expect.
Aside from Project Lambda, Java 8 also gets a new Date and Time API (JSR 310), the Nashorn JavaScript engine, and removes the Permanent Generation from the HotSpot virtual machine, among other changes.
I would like to acknowledge the following people for providing valuable resources:
- Brian Goetz – “State of the Lambda”
- Aleksey Shipilev – jdk8-lambda-samples
- Richard Warburton – “Java 8 Lambdas”
- Julien Ponge – “Oracle Nashorn” in the Jan./Feb. 2014 issue of Java Magazine.
- Venkat Subramaniam – agiledeveloper.com
- All of the developers behind Java 8.
- The developers of Guava, joda-time, Groovy, and Scala.