New Features and Enhancements in Java 11

Java 11 is the latest long‑term support release, maintained by Oracle until 2026, and introduces a range of language and JVM enhancements.

Unicode 10 support : Java now aligns with Unicode 10, expanding the character set to 16 018 characters, 18 blocks, and 10 scripts.

HttpClient as a standard API : The incubating jdk.incubator.http package has been replaced by the standard java.net.http package, providing four core classes – HttpClient , HttpRequest , HttpResponse and WebSocket . Example usage:

HttpClient client = HttpClient.newBuilder()
    .version(HttpClient.Version.HTTP_1_1)
    .connectTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(3))
    .build();
HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
    .uri(URI.create("http://www.baidu.com"))
    .build();
HttpResponse
response = client.send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());
System.out.println(response.statusCode()); // 200
System.out.println(response.body()); // HTML of Baidu homepage

Collection and String API enhancements : java.util.Collection gains toArray(IntFunction) , and String adds lines() , stripLeading() , stripTrailing() , among other utilities.

Dynamic compiler threads : New JVM flag -XX:+UseDynamicNumberOfCompilerThreads allows the JIT compiler to adjust thread count based on workload, reducing CPU and memory waste.

Garbage collection improvements : The low‑pause ZGC is now production‑ready, handling heap sizes from MB to TB with sub‑10 ms pause times; the experimental Epsilon GC offers a no‑op collector.

Nest‑based access control : Classes can now share private members within a nest without synthetic accessor methods. Example:

public class NestBasedTest {
    public static class Nest1 {
        private int varNest1;
        public void f() throws Exception {
            final Nest2 nest2 = new Nest2();
            // access nest2.varNest2 directly
        }
    }
    public static class Nest2 {
        private int varNest2;
    }
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        new Nest1().f();
    }
}

Cryptography updates : New algorithms such as ChaCha20, Poly1305, Curve25519, Curve448, and RSASSA‑PSS are available via Cipher.getInstance . AES‑128/256 now support Kerberos 5 encryption.

Lambda‑var support : Lambda parameters can be declared with var for type inference, e.g., list.forEach((var x) -> System.out.print(x)); .

Single‑file source execution : A *.java file can be run directly with java HelloWorld.java without prior compilation.

Flight Recorder integration : The JDK now includes the low‑overhead Flight Recorder tool for event‑based profiling and post‑mortem analysis.

Removed modules : Several legacy modules and APIs have been dropped, including AWTUtilities, Lucida fonts, appletviewer, certain sun.misc methods, and Java FX from the Oracle JDK.

Upgrade guidance : New projects should start with Oracle JDK 11; existing Java 8 projects may remain unchanged until a migration is planned, noting that third‑party libraries often drive upgrade complexity.

Migration tooling : IBM’s binary‑app‑scanner can analyze WAR files for Java 11 compatibility, generating detailed HTML reports.

Oracle vs. OpenJDK : Oracle JDK offers longer support cycles, commercial stability, and additional platform support (e.g., Solaris), while OpenJDK follows a rapid release cadence.

For further reading, see the official JDK 11 documentation, download pages, and release notes.