For more features have been proposed for Java Development Kit (JDK) 21, due in September as the next long-term support release of Oracle’s standard Java implementation: generational ZGC (Z Garbage Collector), record patterns, pattern matching for switch expressions and statements, and a vector API. These join four other features previously proposed for JDK 20: sequenced collections, virtual threads, a preview of string templates, and a third preview of a foreign function and memory API.
Early-access binaries under the GPL are available at jdk.java.net. Oracle publishes new releases of standard Java every six months, with the most recent, JDK 20, having arrived March 21. The specific proposals for JDK 21 so far include: