Java 8 vs Java 11

Java is a high-level programming language developed by James Gosling in 1995. Java is a very popular language for Android applications. Even the Android operating system itself is written in Java. Its syntax is simple, clean, and easy to understand so it is quite popular among developers. It has released many versions over the year. Java 8 and Java 11 are the versions of Java released by Oracle in 2014 and 2018 respectively, with their different functionalities. Let us learn about them and in what aspects they are different from each other.

Java 8

Oracle released version 8 of Java in 2014. It is termed a revolutionary release of the world’s number 1 development platform. Though many new versions have been released in the market after Java 8, still 50% of the developers choose to opt for Java 8 version for their main applications as it provides lots of language features.

Requirements for Java 8:

• RAM- 128 MB or more.
• 124 MB of disc space is required for JRE.
• 2 MB is required for the java updates.
• Pentium 2 CPU running at a minimum of 266 MHz.

Features of Java 8:

• It increases productivity.
• It is quite simple to use and has good security features.
• It has good performance and polyglot development.
• It has an open and community-driven platform.
• One can have a commercial license to Oracle technology or services.

Java 11

Java 11 is an open-source implementation of Java platform version 11, released in the year 2018. It comes with new features to provide more functionality. Many features like Appletviewer, AWT utility class, Bundled Fonts, JavaFX modules, etc are removed from Java 11, for the better functioning of the system.

Requirements for Java 11:

• Four-core CPU 2.40 GHz.
• RAM- 8 GB.
• A minimum of 250 MB of free storage space is required, plus the anticipated data size. 

Features of Java 11:

• Using a new Java launcher, a single Java source code file can now be launched.
• A contemporary HTTP client, Unicode 10, nest-based access control, and more are all included in Java 11.
• Appletviewer, AWT utility class, Bundled Fonts are all removed from Java 11, while JavaFX is splitted and then separated from the JDK.
• It enables customers to receive updates for at least eight years in this version.
• A new experimental garbage collector is added.

Difference Table 

	Java 8	Java 11
Appletviewer	The appletviewer tool is available in Java 8.	The appletviewer tool is not available in Java 11.
String Techniques	It has fewer string methods.	Several new methods of String such as isBlank(), lines(), repeat(n), and many more.
Lambda Expressions	In lambda expressions, no special variables are used.	In lambda expressions, var variables are used.
Java Deployment Technologies	This technology is available in this version.	This technology is removed from this version.
Patterns	Pattern recognition is not possible.	With the help of the asMatchPredicate() method, pattern recognition is possible
Garbage Collection	It has less garbage collector memory	It has a better garbage collection system
TLS Version	It uses TLS 1.2 version.	It uses TLS 1.3 version.
Security	It is less secure when compared with JAVA 11.	In this version, the applications are quite secure than the applications in JAVA 8.
Modularity	The Modularity feature is not available in Java 8.	The Modularity feature is available in Java 11.
Var Keyword	Var keyword is not available.	Var keyword is available in Java 11, which is termed as a developer-friendly keyword.
AWTUtilities	Though the AWTUtilities class is available, it is not recommended.	The AWTUtilities class is not available.
JMC and JavaFX	These both are available in the Oracle JDK.	These both are removed from the Oracle JDK.
Performance	In JAVA 8, there is no suitable method to work with files.	In JAVA 11, there are various methods to work with the file such as writeString(), readString(), and isSameFile().

Conclusion

Applications written in Java 11 are faster and more secure than Java 8 as it upgraded to support TLS 1.3, which is more secure than the previous versions. Also, CORBA and Java EE modules have been removed from Java 11 to tackle security issues. So, one should upgrade from Java 8 to Java 11.