Why Java 17 Is the Fastest Yet and What to Expect from Java 18

Java 17 Released – The Fastest Version Yet

According to a benchmark by OptaPlanner comparing JDK 17, 16 and 11, Java 17 shows significant speed improvements.

With the default G1GC, Java 17 is 8.66% faster than Java 11 and 2.41% faster than Java 16.

With ParallelGC, Java 17 is 6.54% faster than Java 11 and 0.37% faster than Java 16.

ParallelGC itself is 16.39% faster than G1GC.

Java 18 is now in early‑access development and is expected to be released in March next year. Proposed features include the third incubation of the Vector API, preview of record patterns and array patterns, and making UTF‑8 the default charset for standard Java APIs.

Key details of the JDK 18 proposals:

The Vector API will be incubated for the third time, enabling runtime compilation to the best vector instructions of the host CPU, improving performance over scalar calculations and adding support for ARM scalar‑vector extensions and masked vector operations.

Preview of record patterns and array patterns to enhance pattern matching without changing the syntax or semantics of type patterns.

UTF‑8 will become the default charset for standard Java APIs, improving consistency across platforms, though some legacy applications may be affected.

JavaDoc will gain an @snippet tag to simplify inclusion and verification of code examples in API documentation.

Additional possible JDK 18 features include pattern‑matching for switch expressions and statements, as well as external function and memory APIs that are currently incubating.

For further reading see the Infoworld article linked below.

https://www.infoworld.com/article/3630510/what-to-expect-in-java-18.html