State of Java 2026

JDK 25 arrived as the new LTS baseline alongside major platform convergence. The ecosystem's biggest pillars (Spring Boot 4/Spring Framework 7, Jakarta EE 11, and the tooling stack) aligned around modern Java (JDK 21+) and production-grade Loom. At the same time, Leyden's early ahead-of-time (AOT) work plus runtime shifts like compact object headers and generational Shenandoah changed the cost profile of services—startup, memory, and operational headroom—making Java more competitive in containers and serverless. And with Spring AI, LangChain4j, and Model Context Protocol (MCP)-enabled frameworks bringing first-class large language model (LLM) integration to the JVM, 2025 set up 2026 as the year this convergence turns into broad adoption—across platform, productivity, and agentic systems.

2025 then delivered the receipts: JDK 25 became the next LTS baseline (Premier Support through at least September 2030 and Extended Support through at least September 2033), with Oracle planning NFTC updates through September 2028 and OTN-licensed updates through at least September 2033.

Spring Boot 4.0 rebuilt on Spring Framework 7.0, Jakarta EE 11 modernized the enterprise stack, and Loom's virtual threads crossed from "promising" to "normal" with Netflix publishing a production case study.

JDK 24 shipped Leyden's first practical AOT wins (40% faster startup for Spring PetClinic), while JDK 25 finalized Module Import Declarations, Compact Object Headers delivering significant heap reduction benefits, and Generational Shenandoah GC—shifting Java's startup/memory/ops curve.

Contrary to persistent "Java is dead" narratives, Azul's State of Java 2025 Report showed Java 8 usage plummeted to 23% from 40% in 2023, while Java 21 adoption surged to 45% according to Perforce's JRebel report. Approximately 76% of developers now use AI coding assistants with GitHub Copilot (42%) and ChatGPT (52%) leading usage. The year saw Oracle's controversial GraalVM pivot away from Java, positioning Project Leyden as the unified AOT strategy. JavaOne 2025 returned as a 3-day event celebrating Java's 30th anniversary, while Devoxx Belgium 2025 drew 3,038 unique attendees for the intellectual center of the ecosystem. Security remained critical with CVE-2025-53066 (CVSS 7.5) in JAXP and Spring's CVE-2025-41248 (Spring Security) and CVE-2025-41249 (Spring Framework) requiring prompt patching (especially for applications using @EnableMethodSecurity with generic type hierarchies).

The AI battleground intensified as Spring AI 1.0 GA and LangChain4j competed for the JVM AI framework crown, while Micronaut 4.10 and Helidon 4.3 adopted Model Context Protocol for LLM integration. Project Valhalla re-incubated value classes targeting JDK 26-27, promising to revolutionize memory density and compete with C++/Rust efficiency. Real-world validation came from Airbnb's Bazel migration achieving 3-5x faster builds with CSAT improving from 38% to 68%, and Stripe's zero-downtime data migrations handling 5 million queries/second. The ecosystem emerged with Java positioned not just as a legacy maintainer, but as a high-performance, memory-safe runtime for the agentic era—proving that at 30 years old, Java has "the energy of a 20-year-old and the wisdom of a 40-year-old."

January 21: Oracle's Critical Patch Update addressed CVE-2025-0509 (CVSS 7.3) affecting Java SE Install component. Amazon Corretto, Eclipse Temurin, Microsoft OpenJDK, and Azul Zulu released coordinated quarterly updates for JDK 8-23.

January 30: Azul's State of Java 2025 Report revealed Java 8 usage plummeted to 23% (from 40% in 2023) while Java 21 adoption reached 31% (second only to Java 17 at 34%). Separately, Perforce's JRebel report showed Java 21 at 45% adoption. The Azul report showed 88% of Oracle Java users were considering switching to alternative JDK providers amid employee-based licensing concerns.

January 27-28: jChampions Conference kicked off the year's virtual events bringing together Java Champions to discuss ecosystem state.

Framework Activity: WildFly 35 shipped with MicroProfile 7.0 support, Micronaut 4.7.4 and Quarkus 3.17.6 maintenance patches released, and Spring Cloud 2023.0.5 based on Spring Boot 3.4.0 shipped.

March 18: JDK 24 reached General Availability with 24 JEPs including JEP 483 (Ahead-of-Time Class Loading) from Project Leyden demonstrating 40% faster startup for Spring PetClinic. JEP 450 (Compact Object Headers) introduced experimental 64-bit object headers (down from 96-128 bits), JEP 472 prepared to restrict JNI use requiring explicit command-line flags in a future release, and JEP 491 solved virtual thread pinning on synchronized blocks. Security highlights included JEP 496/497 for quantum-resistant cryptography (ML-KEM, ML-DSA algorithms). JEP 479 removed the Windows 32-bit x86 port while JEP 501 deprecated the 32-bit x86 port for removal marking the end of legacy hardware support. JEP 475 optimized G1 GC with late barrier expansion, JEP 484 finalized Class-File API for programmatic bytecode manipulation, JEP 485 introduced Stream Gatherers for enhanced stream processing, and JEP 486 permanently disabled the Security Manager ending the legacy security model.

March 17-20: JavaOne 2025 returned to Redwood Shores celebrating Java's 30th anniversary as a 3-day event with ~80 sessions and labs. Day 1 featured Scott McNealy recounting Java's origins, while Mark Reinhold addressed 11 developer pain points with pipeline solutions. Oracle announced JDK 25 as the next LTS (September) with two-year LTS cadence (JDK 29 in 2027). Sessions focused on AI integration with Project Babylon demos and Foreign Function & Memory API showcases.

March 14: Helidon 4.2 launched with Helidon AI module and CRaC support for instant startup through JVM snapshotting.

April 15: Oracle's Critical Patch Update patched six Java SE vulnerabilities including CVE-2025-30691 (CVSS 4.8) affecting the Compiler component in Java 21.0.6 and 24.

April 24: Spring published an advisory for a Spring Boot vulnerability (CVE-2025-22235) with simultaneous patches across versions 2.7.25, 3.1.16, 3.2.14, 3.3.11, and 3.4.5. CVE-2025-22228 (HIGH) revealed BCryptPasswordEncoder.matches() incorrectly returned true for passwords exceeding 72 characters.

May 22: Spring Boot 3.5.0 shipped as the final 3.x minor release with new @ServletRegistration/@FilterRegistration annotations, environment variable properties with env: prefix, SSL support for Cassandra/Couchbase/Elasticsearch/Kafka/MongoDB/RabbitMQ/Redis, and bean background initialization for faster startup.

May 21-23: Spring I/O 2025 in Barcelona drew 1,200+ attendees with bombshell announcements: Spring Framework 7 roadmap, Spring Boot 4 migration path, and Spring AI 1.0 GA.

June 26: Jakarta EE 11 released as the first new Jakarta EE since 2022, completing a staggered rollout from Core Profile (December 2024) to Web Profile (April 2025) to full Platform. The release introduced Jakarta Data 1.0 for standardized repository APIs (BasicRepository, CrudRepository, Jakarta Data Query Language), 16 updated specifications, Java 17 minimum with Java 21 support, Virtual Threads via Jakarta Concurrency, and support for Java records in EL/JPA/Bean Validation. Specification renames for clarity: Jakarta Bean Validation→Jakarta Validation, JSP→Jakarta Pages, JSF→Jakarta Faces. Removed Jakarta SOAP with Attachments and Jakarta XML Binding from platform. Eclipse GlassFish 8 became the first certified implementation. The TCK migrated from Ant/JavaTest to Maven/JUnit 5/Arquillian.

July 15: Oracle's Critical Patch Update included 11 new security patches for Oracle Java SE. One JavaFX/libxml2 fix (CVE-2025-27113) also addresses additional upstream libxml2 CVEs, including CVE-2024-56171 (CVSS 9.8 NVD / 7.8 CNA). The update brought JDK versions to 24.0.2, 21.0.8, 17.0.16, 11.0.28, and 8u461.

July 31: Gradle 9.0.0 shipped requiring Java 17+ to run with configuration cache as preferred execution mode, embedded Kotlin 2.2 and Groovy 4, and semantic versioning adoption.

August 14: Spring Framework CVE-2025-41242 (MEDIUM) disclosed path traversal vulnerability on non-compliant Servlet containers, fixed in version 6.2.10.

August: Eclipse Temurin announced JDK 24 with JEP 493 reduced JDK archives by 35% and on-disk installations by 15%. IntelliJ IDEA 2025.2 shipped with day-one Java 25 support, new Spring Debugger, and Junie agent integration.

September 16: JDK 25 reached General Availability as the year's marquee Long-Term Support release with Premier Support through at least September 2030 and Extended Support through at least September 2033, with Oracle providing NFTC updates through September 2028 and OTN-licensed updates through at least September 2033, delivering 18 JEPs. Finalized features included JEP 506 (Scoped Values) for thread-safe immutable data sharing, JEP 510 (Key Derivation Function API) supporting Argon2/HMAC, JEP 511 (Module Import Declarations) simplifying project setup, JEP 512 (Compact Source Files) removing public static void main boilerplate, and JEP 513 (Flexible Constructor Bodies) allowing statements before super(). JEP 519/450 (Compact Object Headers) promoted to production delivering significant heap reduction and performance benefits from compressing object headers from 96-128 bits to 64 bits. JEP 521 (Generational Shenandoah) reached production-ready status. Project Leyden expanded with JEP 514 (AOT Command-Line Ergonomics) and JEP 515 (AOT Method Profiling) with example programs showing ~15-25% faster startup vs JDK 24 when trained. JEP 520 (JFR Method Timing) democratized profiling.

September 15: Oracle announced GraalVM detachment from Java ecosystem train with GraalVM for JDK 24 as the final release as part of Oracle Java SE Products—a controversial industry-shaking decision. Oracle shifted GraalVM focus to non-Java languages (GraalPy for Python, GraalJS for JavaScript) while positioning Project Leyden as the unified AOT strategy for Java. Oracle stressed that faster startup and lower footprint goals "will be pursued in OpenJDK's Project Leyden as a standard part of Java," discontinuing GraalVM Native Image early-access in Oracle JDK. Community response: Red Hat's Mandrel 25 (GraalVM downstream for Quarkus) ensured Java 25 native image support, while GraalVM Community Edition continues independently with licensing shift to "GraalVM Free Terms and Conditions" (GFTC) for production use.

September 17: Amazon Corretto 25 launched with Compact Object Headers, Generational Shenandoah, AOT Caching, and bundled Async-Profiler. Microsoft OpenJDK builds followed September 29, Eclipse Temurin 25 shipped September 30.

September 15: Spring released fixes for CVE-2025-41248 and CVE-2025-41249. Spring Security 6.4.11/6.5.5 address CVE-2025-41248, and Spring Framework 6.2.11 addresses CVE-2025-41249.

October 6-10: Devoxx Belgium 2025 drew 3,038 unique attendees as the intellectual center of the ecosystem. Top talks included "Java 21 to 25 - Better Language, Better APIs" by Nicolai Parlog and "The New Java Best Practices" by Stephen Colebourne, emphasizing the shift toward virtual threads and AI Agents.

October 2: Helidon 4.3.0 released with MCP (Model Context Protocol) server/client support for LLM integration.

October 21: Oracle's Critical Patch Update included five new security patches for Oracle Java SE, including CVE-2025-53066 (CVSS 7.5) in JAXP and CVE-2025-53057 (CVSS 5.9) in Security component, bringing versions to JDK 25.0.1, 21.0.9, 17.0.17, 11.0.29, and 8u471.

October 22: Micronaut Framework 4.10.0 matched Helidon with Micronaut MCP module and Micronaut Langchain4j integration.

October 29: Gradle 9.2.0 introduced Windows ARM64 support with 34-42% faster work graph building and 7-12% less memory usage. Red Hat Build of Quarkus 3.27 launched with enhanced Hibernate ORM 7 integration and AI-powered development tools.

November 20: Spring Boot 4.0.0 GA shipped as a generational leap on Spring Framework 7.0. Release notes highlighted REST API versioning (path/header/query/media type strategies), HTTP Service Clients auto-configuration, built-in resilience (retry/throttling), JSpecify null-safety annotations across the portfolio, Jakarta EE 11 baseline (Tomcat 11, Hibernate 7, Hibernate Validator 9), Jackson 3, Java 25 support, and Java 17+ required (latest LTS encouraged).

November: IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3 merged Community and Ultimate into single distribution with feature unlocking based on licensing. Features included full Java 25 support, Spring Framework 7 tooling, JUnit 6 support, and Groovy 5 compatibility.

December 9: Oracle's Java Platform Extension for VS Code 25.0.0 introduced Interactive Java Notebooks (IJNB) combining Markdown with executable Java code for Jupyter-style development.

December 2: JakartaOne Livestream 2025 showcased Jakarta EE 11 adoption stories from enterprise early adopters.

Year-End: Java Champions organized "Java 30th Anniversary" panel with luminaries reflecting on evolution from applets to cloud/containers, captured in the observation: "Java is 30, but has the energy of a 20-year-old and the wisdom of a 40-year-old."

Community Events Throughout 2025: Devnexus 2025 (April) in Atlanta focused on Java's 30th anniversary, Jfokus 2025 (Stockholm, February) returned to in-person format, and Voxxed Days across various cities brought full in-person schedules featuring content on virtual threads and performance tuning.

AI Adoption: Approximately 76% of Java developers use AI coding assistants (12% don't use, 12% prohibited) with GitHub Copilot (42%) and ChatGPT (52%) leading usage according to Perforce's JRebel report. JetBrains State of Developer Ecosystem 2025 confirmed 85% of developers use AI tools in some capacity, with Java used by 29% in past year.

Hiring and Budgets: Perforce JRebel 2025 Report revealed 51% of companies planned to add Java developers (down from 60% in 2024), 34% planned to increase budgets for developer tools, and 70% of Java teams used remote or containerized dev setups introducing longer redeploy times.

Language Rankings: TIOBE Index showed Java declining from 10.15% (January) to 8.35% (October), landing at fourth place as C# surged past Java for first time in years. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 showed approximately 30% of professional developers use Java, ranking among top 6 languages.

Virtual Threads vs Reactive Debate Resolved: With Project Loom's virtual threads production-ready (JDK 21+), 2025 saw industry largely settle the debate—simple thread-per-request models can replace complex reactive frameworks for many use cases. Spring Framework 6 & 7 incorporated virtual thread support, while reactive streams retain advantages for certain high-throughput streaming logic. Jetty and Tomcat experiments with Loom validated virtual threads simplifying concurrency by 2026.

Java Operator SDK 5.0 GA (January 6, 2025) simplified building Kubernetes Operators in Java with first-class Kubernetes Server-Side Apply support and improved event source abstractions. Eclipse Adoptium offered JDK 21/25 base images with small footprints, while tools like Jib and Buildpacks updated immediately for new JDK versions.

Project CRaC (Coordinated Restore at Checkpoint) enables JVM snapshotting for instant startup under OpenJDK. Early builds with JDK 21 demonstrated startup times in tens of milliseconds—addressing Java's cold start in FaaS (Functions-as-a-Service). Helidon 4.2 added CRaC support for instant microservices startup. Microsoft published guidance on accelerating Java applications on Azure Kubernetes Service with CRaC.

GPU Acceleration: TornadoVM 2.0 GA (late 2025) brought experimental support for accelerating Java on GPUs and FPGAs, opening possibilities for compute-intensive AI workloads beyond CPU-only execution.

The year witnessed fierce competition between Spring AI and LangChain4j for the JVM AI framework crown. Spring AI vs Langchain4j comparison highlighted divergent philosophies:

Spring AI (Convention-Over-Configuration):

LangChain4j (Modular Java-First):

The Verdict: DevFest Toulouse 2025 "Codepocalypse Now" session revealed hybrid pattern—large enterprises use Spring AI for standard RAG, while innovation teams favor LangChain4j for autonomous agents. Healthy competition drove rapid improvement across both frameworks.

Netflix published a production case study on virtual-thread performance and pitfalls exploring Project Loom adoption in Java 21 + Spring Boot. The study documented production challenges with pinning and locking while demonstrating promising performance characteristics. How Netflix Really Uses Java provided conference validation that virtual threads are production-ready for conservative enterprises willing to address known pitfalls.

Uber's strategy for upgrading 2M+ Spark jobs utilized "Polyglot Piranha" tool for automated refactoring, treating migration as software engineering problem. Uber embraced ARM-based cloud instances for Java workloads optimizing cost-to-serve ratios, highlighting JVM's cross-platform strengths.

Airbnb's JVM monorepo migration to Bazel achieved 3-5x faster local builds with developer CSAT improving from 38% to 68%. The case study demonstrated that at massive repository scales, hermetic build systems like Bazel become necessary for developer velocity.

Stripe's DocDB platform upgrades handled 5 million database queries/second migrating tens of terabytes of financial data with zero downtime, reinforcing Java's dominance in fintech where consistency cannot be sacrificed for speed.

When: JDK 26 GA March 2026, JDK 27 September 2026 Context: JDK 26 entered Rampdown Phase One in late 2025. Expected features include String Templates finalized, Structured Concurrency (Sixth Preview), Lazy Constants (Second Preview), Vector API (Eleventh Incubator), and JEP 500 (Prepare to Make Final Mean Final) restricting reflection loopholes. Oracle formed JSR Expert Group for Java 27 indicating significant features under JCP review. Action: Test JDK 26 early access builds for compatibility. Plan migration from JDK 21 to 25 before September 2026 when Oracle's permissive licensing (NFTC) for JDK 21 ends. Monitor Project Valhalla for possible first preview of value classes in JDK 26-27.

When: Likely JDK 27-28 (late 2026-2027) Context: Re-incubation of Value Classes (JEP 401) in late 2025 signals nearing finality. Try the New Valhalla EA Build shows active development. By enabling "flat" memory layouts for objects, Valhalla promises to revolutionize Java's performance in AI and data-heavy applications, allowing Java to compete with C++ and Rust in memory efficiency while retaining memory safety. Action: Download Valhalla EA builds for testing with data-intensive workloads. Identify memory-heavy applications (collections, arrays, numerical computing) for 20-40% heap reduction potential. Plan generic specialization strategies for performance-critical code.

When: Jakarta EE 12 targeting July 2026 GA with JDK 21 minimum Context: Jakarta EE 12 will focus on consistency and configuration. With Jakarta EE 11 freshly out, vendors will release compliant servers—Red Hat's WildFly, IBM's WebSphere Liberty/Open Liberty, Apache TomEE. MicroProfile 8.0 could arrive late 2026 aligning with Jakarta EE 11 and JDK 21+ for cloud-native Java APIs. Action: Complete Jakarta EE 11 migration (javax.* to jakarta.*) by mid-2026. Monitor Jakarta EE 12 specifications for cloud features and GraalVM native image compatibility. Test MicroProfile 8.0 early access for cloud-native API evolution.

When: Spring Framework 7.1/7.2 throughout 2026, Spring 8 planning by year-end Context: Spring Boot 4.x enters widespread use in 2026 as organizations migrate to Java 21+ era. Spring might begin revealing Spring 8 plans targeting Java 25 or 29 baseline. Project Reactor and Spring WebFlux will adapt in Loom world, possibly simplifying programming model thanks to virtual threads. Given GraalVM's shift, Spring may lean on OpenJDK's Project Leyden for native compilation rather than GraalVM Native Image. Action: Migrate to Spring Boot 4.0 for Jakarta EE 11 alignment and null-safety. Test virtual threads as replacement for WebFlux reactive stacks. Evaluate Project Leyden integration for AOT compilation replacing GraalVM Native Image.

When: Project Leyden preview JDK 27-28 (2026-2027), GraalVM 26-27 community releases Context: Oracle detached GraalVM from Java with GraalVM for JDK 24 as final Oracle release. Project Leyden will deliver first fruits—perhaps early preview of Java static image tool integrated with JDK. Community-driven GraalVM Community Edition continues with Red Hat's Mandrel providing timely native-image builds (Mandrel 26, 27) for Quarkus users. Action: Monitor Project Leyden JDK 27-28 prototypes for AOT compilation validation. For Quarkus/native-image users, track Red Hat Mandrel releases for JDK 26-27 support. Test GraalPython/GraalJS polyglot improvements for non-Java workloads.

When: Mainstream adoption throughout 2026 Context: With Project Loom's virtual threads production-ready in JDK 21+, 2025 saw industry adopt virtual threads for simpler concurrency. Netflix published a production case study on virtual-thread performance and pitfalls (pinning/locking issues in Java 21 + Spring Boot), providing valuable lessons for early adopters. Spring Framework 6 & 7 incorporated virtual thread support, while Akka blends Loom into actor model for "best of both" approach. Java web frameworks (Jetty, Tomcat) embrace virtual threads simplifying concurrency. Action: Evaluate virtual threads for simpler concurrency in thread-per-request models. Enable virtual threads in Spring Boot 4.0 and Jakarta EE 11 servers. Study Netflix's production lessons on pinning/locking before migrating from reactive stacks. Benchmark throughput/scalability vs reactive programming for your workload.

When: Continuous throughout 2026 Context: Approximately 76% of Java developers use AI coding assistants with GitHub Copilot (42%) and ChatGPT (52%) leading according to Perforce's JRebel report. The "Agentic" shift moves from chatbot integrations to autonomous AI agents. Microsoft 2025 Year in Review highlighted Semantic Kernel for Java, Spring AI integrations, and GitHub Copilot App Modernization using agents to automatically upgrade frameworks and refactor legacy codebases. Action: Deploy Spring AI or LangChain4j for RAG applications (~76% of teams already use AI assistants). Implement GitHub Copilot for framework upgrades and legacy code refactoring. Evaluate Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration in Micronaut 4.10+ and Helidon 4.3+ for LLM connectivity.

When: Deadline September 2026 (JDK 21 permissive licensing/NFTC ends) Context: Oracle's "Java SE Universal Subscription" charges based on total employee count rather than Java users. Azul 2025 State of Java Survey revealed 88% of Oracle Java users considering switching to alternative JDK providers like Azul Zulu, Amazon Corretto, Eclipse Temurin, Microsoft OpenJDK. This exodus democratized the runtime market and weakened Oracle's commercial grip. Action: Complete migration from Oracle JDK to Eclipse Temurin, Amazon Corretto, or Azul Zulu before September 2026. Audit licensing costs under employee-based model. Validate production workloads on alternative JDK distributions.

When: Continuous evolution throughout 2026 Context: Java Operator SDK hit 5.0 GA on January 6, 2025, simplifying building Kubernetes Operators in Java with first-class Kubernetes Server-Side Apply support. Eclipse Adoptium offers JDK base images for Java 21 and 25 with small footprints. Tools like Jib and Buildpacks updated for new JDK versions. Project CRaC (Coordinated Restore at Checkpoint) enables JVM snapshotting for instant startup—early builds with JDK 21 showed startup in tens of milliseconds, addressing Java's cold start in FaaS. Action: Adopt Java Operator SDK 5.0+ for Kubernetes Operators in Java. Test Eclipse Temurin JDK 21/25 base images for container optimization. Evaluate Project CRaC for serverless/FaaS workloads requiring sub-second cold start.

When: Finalization in JDK 26-27 Context: Java 24/25 introduced quantum-resistant cryptography with JEP 496/497 (ML-KEM, ML-DSA algorithms). Expect JDK 26/27 to finalize PQC algorithms ensuring Java remains secure for next decade. 2025 saw critical vulnerabilities: CVE-2024-56171 (CVSS 9.8), CVE-2025-53066 (CVSS 7.5), and Spring's CVE-2025-41248 (Spring Security) and CVE-2025-41249 (Spring Framework). Action: Enable quantum-resistant cryptography for long-lifecycle government/financial systems. Monitor Oracle Critical Patch Updates quarterly (January, April, July, October). Subscribe to Spring Security advisories for immediate patching. Audit JNI/native access usage before a future JDK flips the default from warnings to blocking (JEP 472).

When: Gradle 9.x adoption throughout 2026, Maven 4 arrival Context: Gradle 9.2.0 achieved 34-42% faster builds with 7-12% memory reduction, Windows ARM64 support. Airbnb's Bazel migration achieved 3-5x faster local builds. Maven 4 development continues with community excitement building. Action: Migrate to Gradle 9.x for configuration cache and 34-42% faster builds. Test Maven 4 early access for large repositories. Evaluate Bazel for massive monorepos (50k+ files) hitting Gradle/Maven ceilings.

When: Kotlin 2.3/2.4 (2026), Scala 3.9 LTS (Q2 2026), Clojure 1.13 Context: Kotlin 2.3 planned spring 2026, 2.4 mid-year finalizing multiplatform story and optimizing K2 compiler. Scala 3.9 LTS anticipated Q2 2026—big event for community enabling Scala 2.13 to 3.9 LTS migration. Clojure might release 1.13 if Rich Hickey has feature set ready. Action: Plan Kotlin 2.3/2.4 migration for multiplatform projects. Evaluate Scala 3.9 LTS for Scala 2.13 migration strategy. Monitor Clojure 1.13 for functional programming updates.

When: JavaOne March 17-19, 2026; Devoxx France April 22-24, 2026 Context: JavaOne 2026 announced for March 17-19, 2026 at Oracle headquarters coinciding with JDK 26 GA. Event will dive into Java 29 (next LTS) roadmap and Valhalla/Loom progress. Devoxx France 2026 runs April 22-24 with Devnexus, other Devoxx editions continuing. 2026 might mark 20th anniversary of first Java Champion awards. Action: Submit JavaOne 2026 sessions on JDK 25/26 migration strategies. Attend Devoxx France 2026 for ecosystem updates. Participate in Java Champions 20th anniversary celebrations.

When: Growing niche throughout 2026 Context: While Python dominates AI/ML development, Java found its niche productionizing AI models where Python prototypes hit operational cost walls. Libraries like DJL (Deep Java Library) and DeepLearning4J saw active development. TornadoVM 2.0 GA brought experimental GPU/FPGA acceleration for Java workloads. Action: Evaluate DJL (Deep Java Library) for productionizing AI models at scale. Test DeepLearning4J for on-premise ML workloads. Experiment with TornadoVM 2.0 for GPU-accelerated compute-intensive AI applications. Position Java as type-safe, reliable runtime for agentic systems vs Python prototypes.

When: Exploratory throughout 2026 Context: Topics like server-side WebAssembly (running Java bytecode in WASM via TeaVM or WASI experiments) gained attention at Devoxx Belgium 2025. Project WASM in OpenJDK (exploratory) might surface—compiling Java bytecode to WebAssembly is niche but intriguing, widening Java's deployment options to include client-side WebAssembly modules and edge computing environments. Action: Monitor OpenJDK Project WASM for Java-to-WebAssembly compilation progress. Test TeaVM for client-side WebAssembly modules. Evaluate WASI experiments for edge computing deployments.

When: Production use throughout 2026 (JDK 25+) Context: JEP 519/450 (Compact Object Headers) promoted to production in JDK 25. Oracle's announcement highlights significant heap reduction and performance benefits due to improved CPU cache locality from compressing object headers from 96-128 bits to 64 bits. For cloud-native architectures running thousands of microservices, this translates directly to smaller container sizes and reduced AWS/Azure bills. Action: Enable Compact Object Headers in JDK 25 production deployments. Measure heap usage reduction (target 15-25%) and execution speed improvement (target 5-10%). Calculate cloud cost savings from smaller container sizes. Combine with Project Leyden AOT for maximum startup/memory optimization.