New Features in Java 8

Java 8 introduced several significant features:

1. Lambda Expressions
   • Syntax: Lambda expressions enable functional programming.
   • Example:

List<String> names = Arrays.asList("Alice", "Bob", "Charlie");
names.forEach(name -> System.out.println(name));

1. Stream API
   • Functional Operations: Stream API facilitates processing collections with functional-style operations.
   • Example:

List<String> names = Arrays.asList("Alice", "Bob", "Charlie");
long count = names.stream().filter(name -> name.startsWith("A")).count();

1. Date and Time API
   • Improved API: Provides a comprehensive set of classes for date and time manipulation.
   • Example:

LocalDate today = LocalDate.now();
LocalDateTime dateTime = LocalDateTime.of(today, LocalTime.of(14, 30));

1. Default Methods in Interfaces
   • Interface Evolution: Allows adding methods to interfaces without breaking existing implementations.
   • Example:

public interface MyInterface {
default void defaultMethod() {
    System.out.println("Default method implementation");
    }
}

1. Optional Class
   • Null Handling: Encourages explicit handling of nullable values to avoid NullPointerException\.
   • Example:

Optional<String> optionalName = Optional.ofNullable(name);
optionalName.ifPresent(System.out::println);

Java 8's features promote cleaner code, improved performance, and better support for modern programming paradigms.