OpenJDK Java 20 Released With Latest Vector API, Scoped Values

Promoted to general availability (GA) status today is the OpenJDK Java 20 update with a number of new features.

OpenJDK Java 20 introduces scoped values as an incubating API. Java's scoped values allow sharing of immutable data within and across threads and preferred over thread-local variables. Java scoped values are intended to be easy-to-use, comprehensible, robust, and performant.

Java 20 also has the fourth incubating update to the Vector API for at run-time compiling to optimal vector instructions on supported CPU architectures. Java 20 has no changes to its Vector API compared to JDK 19 but simply has some bug fixes and performance enhancements.

In second preview form with Java/JDK 20 is the Virtual Threads functionality as lightweight threads for high-throughput concurrent applications. There are some minor API changes with Virtual Threads over JDK 19 along with other basic refinements for this preview feature.

There are also updates to record patterns, pattern matching for switch statements, Foreign Function & Memory API, and structured concurrency with JDK/Java 20.

Downloads and more details on the OpenJDK Java 20 GA release via OpenJDK.org.