Modern Java Features
Java evolves every 6 months. Modern features (Java 17-21) include records, sealed classes, pattern matching, virtual threads, and text blocks — making Java more concise and expressive.
30 min•By Priygop Team•Last updated: Feb 2026
Modern Java Features
- Records (Java 16) — Immutable data classes: record User(String name, int age) {}. Auto-generates constructor, getters, equals, hashCode, toString
- Sealed classes (Java 17) — sealed class Shape permits Circle, Rectangle. Restricts which classes can extend it. Combined with pattern matching for exhaustive switches
- Pattern matching (Java 21) — switch (shape) { case Circle c -> c.area(); case Rectangle r -> r.area(); }. Type-safe, no casting needed
- Text blocks (Java 15) — Multi-line strings with triple quotes. Great for JSON, SQL, HTML templates
- Virtual threads (Java 21) — Lightweight threads: Thread.startVirtualThread(() -> ...). Millions of concurrent threads without the overhead. Game-changer for I/O-heavy servers
- var keyword (Java 10) — Local variable type inference: var list = new ArrayList<String>(). Clean code for complex generic types