Re:Fluent: Static Extension Methods for Java
by rogerkeays on Monday July 03, 2023 @04:41AM
(#36570356)
Yeh, backwards compatibility is one of the biggest selling points of Java. Hopefully, Fluent will show that we can change one or two lines of compiler code and not burn down the whole house. We'll see.
This also explains why it took so long for Java to get lambdas. And, generics with primitive types, e.g., ArrayList<int>, via Project Valhalla. It is a super hard problem to upgrade Java without breaking old stuff. Hence, it is a multi-year R&D effort.