Is there an update somewhere that I've missed? I keep looking for updates and haven't seen them.

(And yes, I know it's a huge effort, I was definitely not trying to say that it should be an easy change to get into the language)

There are JEPs out for parts of it now - Primitive Objects (which is the new name for value types) https://openjdk.java.net/jeps/401 and Unify the basic primitives with objects https://openjdk.java.net/jeps/402

I haven't read up on the details of these but this is a huge step in the right direction if pulled off properly. The dichotomy between primitive and non-primitive types in Java is a real rough spot. I'd have to see how they deal with null values though because the introduction of auto-boxing certainly introduced a new area for NullPointerExceptions to catch the unwary off-guard.

There is extensive discussion of that topic in the valhalla-dev and valhalla-spec-experts mailing lists, but I think the details are still being worked out.

>It's been in active progress for years now

And it might be in "active progress" for years more, seeing that we were promised it would come a decade ago.

I recall someone in /r/java saying that I should stick with Java for the new project because project loom is just around the corner. The system has been in production for 3 or 4 years by now.