Following section gives a quick introductory of the new features of Java 5
Generics:
Provides compile time type-safety.
o Example: List<String> myList= new ArrayList<String>(); where myList is an array list of String type.
Enhanced for loop:
For statement can be used to iterate over an array or a collection.
o Example: for(Object object: myList) where myList if an ArrayList collection and its elements are assigned to object.
Autoboxing/unboxing:
Automatic conversion of wrapper types to primitive types and vice versa.
o Example: boxing: int i=new Integer(42);
o Example: unboxing: Integer iObj=36;
Enum type:
A new enumeration type in java
o Example: private enum CustomerType {Individual, Corporate}; later can be referenced as CustomerType.Individual or CustomerType.Corporate.
Static import:
Provides a way to access final static fields without referencing it with class name.
o Example: import static java.util.Calendar.SATURDAY; later can be directly referenced as SATURDAY instead of Calendar.SATURDAY.
Varargs:
Allows methods to have variable length of arguments. It can be used instead of array.
o Example: public static void main(String... args) where … says that there is 0 or more arguments.
Annotations:
Provides notes in java programs to ask java compiler to do something.
o Example: @Override, @Deprecated
Reference links:
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/relnotes/features.html