Exploring Features of Java SE 7

Free excerpt from Chapter 01 of Java 7 In Simple Steps by Kogent Learning Solutions Inc.

Java SE 7 is a major release that has brought many new features and enhancements in Java programming. A brief introduction to the noteworthy features of Java SE 7 is as follows:

Swing enhancements: Introduce various enhancements in the javax.swing package. Some of such enhancements are as follows:

• Providing the JLayer class to decorate the swing components
• Moving Nimbus look and feel from the com.sun.java.swing package to the javax.swing.plaf.nimbus package
• Allowing mix up of heavyweight and lightweight components
• Allowing you to create translucent and shaped windows
• Adding the selection of Hue-Saturation-Luminance (HSL) color in the JColorChooser class

Enhancements in Java Input/Output (I/O): Introduce various enhancements in implementing I/O operations using Java programming. Some of the Java I/O enhancements in Java SE 7 are as follows:

• Allowing non-blocking I/O (NIO) 2.0
• Allowing you to develop customized file system provider
• Allowing you to manipulate contents of the Java Archive (JAR) file
• Introducing the new APIs in the java.nio.file package

Networking enhancements: Add the close() method in the URLClassLoader class. The introduction of this method has overcome the problem of supporting the updated implementations of resources that are taken up from a specific codebase. Moreover, the Sockets Direct Protocol (SDP) specifies the accessibility to high-performance network connections.

Security enhancements: Add the following security features in Java SE 7:

• Introducing Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) as a new native provider that contains various ECC-based algorithms
• Allowing you to disable weak cryptographic algorithms

Multithreaded custom class loaders: Modify the locking mechanism to prevent deadlock situation, as the custom class loaders were initially prone to deadlocks

Enhancements in Java programming language: Introduce the following various enhancements in Java SE 7 as a programming language:

• Allowing you to specify the integral types, such as byte, short, int, and long, using the binary number system by adding the 0b or 0B prefix
• Allowing the use of underscores in the numerical literals
• Allowing the use of strings in the switch statements
• Improving the compiler warning that occurs while using non-reifiable formal parameters with the Varargs methods

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