Inside Java

"How JEPs Drive Java's Evolution" with Alex Buckley [AtA] 25.06.2026 56min

JDK Enhancement Proposals are OpenJDK's vehicle for documenting and communicating substantial changes of the Java language, its APIs, and the runtime but also the JDK project itself, for example when it comes to development processes. Their well-defined structure and the immense care that goes into writing them make them eminently readable and understanding them well is essential to understanding Java's development. In this "Ask the Architect" episode of the Inside Java Podcast, recorded during JavaOne 2026, Nicolai Parlog talks to Alex Buckley, the Guardian of the JEP process.

"Java *is* Memory Efficient" with Ron Pressler [AtA] 28.05.2026 35min

Java's use of memory, often chided for being excessive, is actually a strength as it trades more memory use for fewer CPU cycles. Java can only make this tradeoff due to its moving garbage collectors, something more memory efficient platforms often cannot. But what's the point in leaving available memory on the table if using it makes your program run faster? Efficient use of that resource wouldn't be to leave it untapped but to use it to speed up the program. In this "Ask the Architect" episode of the Inside Java Podcast, recorded during JavaOne 2026, Nicolai Parlog talks to Ron Pressler, Java Architect at Oracle.

"Java Gets Post-Quantum TLS" [IJN] 18.05.2026 4min

With JDK 27 introducing hybrid key exchange schemes that combine ML-KEM with traditional ECDHE algorithms, Java applications can gain TLS-layer protection against the harvest-now, decrypt-later threat without rewriting business logic. In this episode of the Inside Java Newscast, Ana explains post-quantum hybrid key exchange for TLS 1.3 and demonstrates how a Java application can take advantage of it. See https://inside.java/podcast

"Make Java Safer with Flexible Constructor Bodies" [IJN] 05.05.2026 7min

Flexible constructor bodies were added to Java 25 with JEP 513. In this episode of the Inside Java Newscast Billy Korando will review the issues with how constructors used to work before Java 25, either forcing developers to write convoluted code, or in some cases undermining the safety and integrity of child classes. Billy will then cover how flexible constructor bodies address these issues and how Java developers can use them to write safer code and better designed applications. Make sure to check https://inside.java/podcast

"Ask the Architects at JavaOne'26" [AtA] 23.04.2026 58min

In JavaOne 2026's closing session, audience members had the opportunity to ask the Java architects questions. They asked about the state of structured concurrency and Project Babylon, how Java is being developed and the role AI plays in that process, the architects' pet projects, and whether they would ever consider breaking backward compatibility, etc. Make sure to check https://inside.java/podcast

"You Must Avoid Final Field Mutation" [IJN] 16.04.2026 9min

With JDK 26 / JEP 500 starting to prevent final field mutation through reflection, it is important that Java projects stop employing that practice. For more, check https://inside.java/podcast

"How JDK 26 Improves G1's Throughput" [AtA] 09.04.2026 17min

G1 is Java's default garbage collector in most environments, and its throughput has been considerably improved in JDK 26 by streamlining its write barriers. This conversation explores the background of that change and dives deep into regions, write barriers, concurrent marking, card tables, and how all that impacts throughput before eventually getting to the improvements made in Java 26, which lay further groundwork to G1 becoming the one and only default collector across _all_ environments. In this "Ask the Architect" episode of the Inside Java Podcast, recorded during JavaOne 2026, Nicolai Parlog talks to Stefan Johansson, Hotspot Garbage Collection engineer at Oracle. For more, check https://inside.java/podcast

"Analyzing Crashed JVMs" [IJN] 04.04.2026 4min

The Java tool jcmd ("j command") sends diagnostic commands to the JVM, which will react by supplying the desired information: from finalizer queues to heap and thread dumps, from GC insights to virtual thread scheduler statistics. At the moment, this requires a running JVM, but once candidate JEP 528 is adopted, a lot of that information can be seamlessly extracted from a crashed JVM's core dump, allowing easy post-mortem analysis.

"Java Carrier Classes & Discussing Syntax" [AtA] 26.03.2026 46min

Carrier classes are Project Amber's current idea to extend some of records' benefits to regular classes. Probably the most important among them is deconstruction, which would allow classes to participate in pattern matching and reconstruction. In recent weeks, there have been two mails to the Amber mailing list that describe that idea, and in this episode we discuss them both as well as the evolution between them. We also hear why syntax discussions often provide negative value and get a sneak peak at what will likely be the next Project Amber language feature. Just ahead of the JavaOne speakers dinner, Nicolai Parlog sits down with Brian Goetz, Java Language Architect in Oracle's Java Platform Group, for this "Ask the Architect" episode of the Inside Java Podcast.

"Unboxing Java 26 for Developers" [IJN] 12.03.2026 11min

Java 26 is getting all packaged up to be shipped worldwide! As with every release of the JDK there are a number of new features, improvements, changes in behavior, and more developers should be aware of before upgrading. In this episode of the Inside Java Newscast we will review all the noteworthy changes coming in Java 26 that will impact developers.

"Towards Better Checked Exceptions" [IJN] 09.03.2026 13min

Java's checked exceptions are both an integral part of the language and one of its most contested features. Whether their introduction was a mistake and whether they should all be turned unchecked are frequently discussed topics but since the former is not overly relevant and the latter unlikely, this conversation isn't moving Java forward. Instead, let's talk about specific issues with checked exceptions and what could be done about them - from (entirely speculative) language changes to (marginally realistic) JDK/library evolution to stylistic changes.

"LazyConstants in JDK 26" [IJN] 06.03.2026 10min

Lazily initializing fields in Java is error-prone and undermines constant-folding. JDK 26 comes with JEP 526, which previews LazyConstant, a type that lazily initializes a value through a given Supplier. It executes that supplier at most once successfully and then assigns the value to a field annotated with @Stable, which allows constant folding. This API is also a poster child for how OpenJDK develops and evolves features.

"HTTP/3 in Java" [ATA] 26.02.2026 42min

HTTP/3 is the next version of the internet's most important application layer protocol. But, somewhat surprisingly, it uses UDP (via the new QUIC protocol) instead of TCP/IP, which has implications for the number of initial round trips, HTTP version selection, and time to first byte, but also adoption and evolution. Java 26 supports HTTP/3 out of the box. Nicolai Parlog talks to Daniel Fuchs and Daniel Jelinski, both Consulting Members of Technical Staff at Oracle and OpenJDK committers, about Java's HTTP client. They start by briefly retracing its introduction in Java 11 and its support for HTTP/2 before diving deeper into HTTP/3 to learn about the motivation, technical underpinnings like the QUIC protocol, and challenges for its adoption before discussing its integration into Java 26 Note: Sorry for the minor audio issues, thank you for your understanding.

"Carrier Classes" [IJN] 23.02.2026 10min

This episode presents Project Amber lead Brian Goetz's recent email "Data Oriented Programming, Beyond Records", wherein he describes plans to improve Java's data handling capabilities by introducing carrier classes, a generalization of records. Like them, carrier classes describe their state through a component list that defines the type's external API: accessors, a constructor, and matching deconstructor - this allows carrier classes to participate in pattern matching and reconstruction. Unlike records, the implementation of this API remains the developer's task although component fields offer a shortcut for the common case where the API does map to a field. Carrier classes don't have to be final (and can hence participate in inheritance) and neither do their fields (so they can be mutable data carriers). The email also mentions carrier interfaces, allowing records to be abstract as well as a relaxation of deconstruction patterns that make them more amenable to evolution of the matched type. This episode also briefly touches on Gavin Bierman's mail to the Project Amber mailing list that announces pattern assignments and constant patterns.

"Java's Plans for 2026" [IJN] 19.02.2026 9min

In 2026, Java keeps evolving: Project Valhalla is gunning for merging its value types preview in the second half of this year; Babylon wants to incubate code reflection; Loom will probably finalize the structured concurrency API; Leyden plans to ship AOT code compilation; and Amber hopes to present JEPs on constant patterns and pattern assignments. And those are just the most progressed features - more are in the pipeline and discussed in this episode of the Inside Java Newscast.

The New Inside Java Podcast 13.02.2026 4min

Welcome to the new Inside Java Podcast. In this meta episode, Nicolai Parlog introduces you to the podcast's new structure with two shows under one umbrella: The long-form conversations you know become Ask the Architects episodes and they'll be accompanied by the Inside Java Newscast as a podcast.

"Scripting Java, Collections & Generics, BeJUG" 28.01.2026 40min

In this special episode of the Inside Java Podcast, Nicolai Parlog talks to Adam Bien about scripting with Java, to Maurice Naftalin about the history and tradeoffs of the collections framework and erasure, and to Tom Cools about the innovative way the Belgian Java User Group organizes itself.

"Predictability or Innovation? Both!" with Georges Saab 22.12.2025 20min

This Inside Java Podcast takes a meta approach. Instead of focusing on specific features, it explores the bigger picture: What are the right problems for Java to tackle? What are the current and future challenges for the Java platform? Why is predictability so important for Java, and what's driving the recent focus on learners and students? Nicolai Parlog discusses these topics with Georges Saab, Senior Vice President of the Java Platform Group and Chair of the OpenJDK Governing Board.

"From Sumatra to Panama, from Babylon to Valhalla" with John Rose 02.12.2025 52min

Java's development embraces the past as well as the future and after contributing to it for over 30 years, John Rose is intimately familiar with the process. In this episode he talks about feature design, the right amount of technical debt (which isn't actually zero), why Rice's theorem demands a mix of static and dynamic checks, how Project Sumatra eventually birthed Panama and Babylon, and more. In this episode, Nicolai interviews John Rose, Senior Architect of the Java Virtual Machine, who brings over 30 years of experience advancing the Java platform.

"From Cowboy Mode to Careful Stewardship" with Mark Reinhold 24.10.2025 40min

Java is a 30-year success story, made possible because its development consistently aligned with users' needs. In its early days, the platform required new features quickly, but over time, minimizing code breakage while carefully evolving the platform became essential. Critical junctures along that path included the introduction of modules and the current strive toward integrity by default. Nicolai Parlog talks to Mark Reinhold, Chief Architect of the Java Platform, who brings nearly three decades of experience shaping Java's evolution.