Eclipse setup

In order to test Java JDK12 you will have to download Eclipse 4.11 at least. Then download JDK12 from Oracle’s web site. And configure Eclipse to use this JDK for the project. Also download the JDK12 support with the following repository link:

https://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/updates/4.11-P-builds

Edit the projects properties to use the “Java Compiler” compliance 12. And “Enable preview features” set to TRUE. Now you should be able to run JDK12 examples. Here a link for the complete setup:

https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/java-12-support-eclipse-2019-03-411

Switch expression

The switch expression receives a new lifting in this version. It allows more readiness and more flexibility. We can now:

• Get rid of the break word in certain cases
• Return a value from the switch
• Put several values in one “case”

With the following example you can see how to get rid of the “break” and use a “case L ->” switch label. In addition, the switch returns a value which can be used after the expression.

String alias = switch (day) {
    case MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY 	-> "Week day";
    case SATURDAY, SUNDAY				                -> "Weekend";
};
System.out.println(alias);

The previous few lines replaces the following ones:

switch (day) {
    case MONDAY:
        System.out.println("Week day");
        break;
    case TUESDAY:
        System.out.println("Week day");
        break;
    case WEDNESDAY:
        System.out.println("Week day");
        break;
    case THURSDAY:
        System.out.println("Week day");
        break;
    case FRIDAY:
        System.out.println("Week day");
        break;
    case SATURDAY:
        System.out.println("Weekend");
        break;
    case SUNDAY:
        System.out.println("Weekend");
        break;
}

Here the expression:

T result = switch (arg) {
    case L1 -> e1;
    case L2 -> e2;
    default -> e3;
};

When using a block of code you will still need a “break”:

int i = switch (day) {
     case MONDAY -> {
     System.out.println("Monday");
     break 0; //break is needed here to return a value if switch need a return
     }
     default -> 1;
}

Thanks to this new notation, we can now return values with a SWITCH expression. In addition it makes it more readable fo big switch expressions. Note that you can still use the “old” way, thus old code will still compile with the new JDK. For the moment it’s deployed in JDK12 which is a non-LTS release, but if the new expression is validated by the tests and results, it will definitely be part of future releases like the LTS versions and you will be able to use it then.