At least two significant things happened:
1) It finally got anonymous functions in Java 8, so you no longer have to use anonymous classes and complicated design patterns as substitutes.
2) The distribution model changed from targeting a preinstalled JRE to bundling your own runtime with jlink and jpackage (i.e. the same as native applications and .NET Core).
Re:Java Turns 25 – Whats Next? [pdf]
by chrisseaton on Sunday September 20, 2020 @01:33PM
(#24535562)
Right, these are both one-day study exercises I think to come up to speed. Java's designed like this - almost everything is additive and builds on the same principles.
Not really. That’s the point of Java. It’s stable.
Check the Wikipedia page on Java history to see the handful of new features then just look for tutorials on those that you need to use. Most of these features are things you can pick up as you go.