The Java landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. With the six-month release cadence for the JDK, major projects like Loom, Panama, and Valhalla delivering groundbreaking features, and a vibrant ecosystem of frameworks and tools constantly updating, staying current is more crucial than ever. Amidst this flurry of activity, the choice of a Java Development Kit (JDK) distribution has become a critical decision for developers and enterprises. Amazon Corretto, a no-cost, production-ready distribution of OpenJDK, has firmly established itself as a leading choice, providing a stable, secure, and high-performance foundation for modern Java applications.
This article explores the latest developments around Amazon Corretto, placing it within the broader context of the exciting Java ecosystem news. We will delve into how Corretto enables developers to harness powerful new language features like virtual threads, examine its role in powering the latest versions of essential frameworks like Spring and Jakarta EE, and provide best practices for integrating it into your development workflow. Whether you’re building cloud-native microservices or maintaining large-scale enterprise systems, understanding Corretto’s place in the modern Java world is key to building robust and efficient applications.
What is Amazon Corretto and Why Does It Matter?
Before diving into the latest features, it’s essential to understand what Amazon Corretto is and the value it provides. At its core, Corretto is Amazon’s distribution of the OpenJDK project, the same open-source code that forms the basis of Oracle’s Java SE. However, Corretto comes with several key assurances that make it highly attractive for production environments.
A Production-Ready OpenJDK Distribution
Amazon Corretto is more than just a build of OpenJDK. It includes a set of patches and enhancements developed by Amazon, many of which are contributed back to the upstream OpenJDK project. These changes often focus on performance, stability, and security. Crucially, Amazon uses Corretto internally for thousands of its own production services, meaning it is rigorously battle-tested at a scale few other organizations can match. This provides a high degree of confidence for developers deploying their own applications on Corretto.
One of Corretto’s most significant benefits is its long-term support (LTS) policy, which is provided at no cost. Amazon provides free security updates and bug fixes for LTS versions like Corretto 8, 11, and 17, aligning with the community’s LTS release schedule. This makes it a compelling alternative to other distributions in the JVM news landscape, such as Oracle Java (which has commercial terms for production use), Adoptium Temurin, Azul Zulu, and BellSoft Liberica. While all are excellent choices, Corretto’s backing and extensive use by AWS give it a unique position in the ecosystem.
Staying Current: Corretto and the Latest JDK Releases
Amazon ensures that Corretto tracks the latest OpenJDK releases closely. This means that as new feature releases like JDK 19 and the upcoming JDK 21 (the next LTS) are finalized, Corretto versions are made available shortly after. This allows developers to immediately start experimenting with and adopting the latest Java features on a stable, supported platform. To get started, you can easily verify which version of Corretto you have installed.
Here is how you can check your installed Java version from the command line, which will show “Corretto” in the output if it’s your active JDK:
# Check the installed Java version
java -version
# Example output for Corretto 17:
# openjdk version "17.0.5" 2022-10-18 LTS
# OpenJDK Runtime Environment Corretto-17.0.5.8.1 (build 17.0.5+8-LTS)
# OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Corretto-17.0.5.8.1 (build 17.0.5+8-LTS, mixed mode, sharing)This close alignment with upstream OpenJDK ensures that the latest Java 17 news and upcoming Java 21 news are directly relevant to Corretto users.
Leveraging Project Loom and Structured Concurrency with Corretto
Perhaps the most exciting recent development in the Java world is the delivery of features from Project Loom. Available as preview features in recent JDK releases and accessible through Amazon Corretto, virtual threads and structured concurrency are set to revolutionize how developers write concurrent applications.
The Power of Virtual Threads (Project Loom)
For years, Java’s concurrency model has been tied to platform threads, which are mapped one-to-one with operating system threads. OS threads are a scarce and heavy resource, limiting the number of concurrent tasks an application can handle. This has been a major bottleneck for I/O-bound applications, such as microservices that spend most of their time waiting for database or network responses.
Virtual threads, a cornerstone of Project Loom news, solve this problem. They are lightweight, user-mode threads managed by the JVM, not the OS. A single platform thread can run millions of virtual threads, dramatically increasing application throughput. This is a game-changer for Java concurrency news. With Corretto 19 and newer, you can start using this powerful feature.
Here’s a comparison of creating a traditional platform thread versus a new virtual thread:
import java.time.Duration;
public class VirtualThreadsExample {
public static void main(String[] args) throws InterruptedException {
// Old way: Creating a platform thread
Thread platformThread = new Thread(() -> {
System.out.println("Running in a platform thread: " + Thread.currentThread());
});
platformThread.start();
platformThread.join();
// New way: Creating a virtual thread
Thread virtualThread = Thread.ofVirtual().start(() -> {
System.out.println("Running in a virtual thread: " + Thread.currentThread());
});
virtualThread.join();
// Creating many virtual threads is cheap
try (var executor = java.util.concurrent.Executors.newVirtualThreadPerTaskExecutor()) {
for (int i = 0; i < 100_000; i++) {
int taskNumber = i;
executor.submit(() -> {
System.out.println("Executing task " + taskNumber + " on " + Thread.currentThread());
try {
Thread.sleep(Duration.ofSeconds(1));
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
// Handle exception
}
});
}
} // executor.close() is called automatically, waiting for all tasks to complete
System.out.println("All 100,000 tasks submitted.");
}
}Simplifying Concurrency with Structured Concurrency
While virtual threads make concurrency cheap, managing it can still be complex. Error handling, task cancellation, and reasoning about lifetimes in traditional asynchronous code using `CompletableFuture` can be challenging. Structured Concurrency, another preview feature delivered by Project Loom, addresses this. It treats concurrent tasks as a single unit of work, simplifying management and improving reliability.
The `StructuredTaskScope` API ensures that if a task is split into concurrent subtasks, they all return to the same place, either with a result or an exception. This makes concurrent code read like sequential code and drastically improves observability. This is a major piece of Java structured concurrency news.
import java.util.concurrent.Future;
import java.util.concurrent.StructuredTaskScope;
import java.util.function.Supplier;
public class StructuredConcurrencyExample {
// A mock task that might succeed or fail
String findUser() throws InterruptedException {
System.out.println("Finding user...");
Thread.sleep(100); // Simulate network call
return "User_Data";
}
// A mock task that fetches an order
int fetchOrder() throws InterruptedException {
System.out.println("Fetching order...");
Thread.sleep(150); // Simulate DB query
return 42;
}
// A class to hold the combined result
record Response(String user, int order) {}
// Using StructuredTaskScope to handle concurrent tasks
public Response handle() throws Exception {
try (var scope = new StructuredTaskScope.ShutdownOnFailure()) {
// Fork the first task
Supplier<String> user = scope.fork(this::findUser);
// Fork the second task
Supplier<Integer> order = scope.fork(this::fetchOrder);
// Wait for both to complete or one to fail
scope.join().throwIfFailed();
// If successful, combine the results
return new Response(user.get(), order.get());
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
StructuredConcurrencyExample example = new StructuredConcurrencyExample();
Response response = example.handle();
System.out.println("Successfully retrieved response: " + response);
}
}Powering Modern Frameworks: Corretto’s Role in the Enterprise Ecosystem
A JDK is only as useful as the ecosystem it supports. Amazon Corretto provides a stable and performant runtime for the entire Java ecosystem, from build tools and testing libraries to the most powerful enterprise frameworks.
Spring Framework and Spring Boot Updates
The latest Spring news is dominated by Spring Framework 6 and Spring Boot 3. A major requirement for this new generation is a Java 17 baseline. This means that to leverage the latest features, performance improvements, and observability enhancements in Spring, developers must move off older versions like Java 8 or 11. Amazon Corretto 17 is a perfect fit, offering a free, LTS-supported JDK that meets this requirement. Running modern Spring applications on Corretto 17 not only ensures compatibility but also provides access to security patches and performance optimizations, which is critical for production systems. The ecosystem is also seeing rapid innovation in areas like Spring AI news and background processing with tools like JobRunr news, all of which benefit from a modern, secure JVM.
The Evolution of Jakarta EE
Similarly, the enterprise Java world has evolved with Jakarta EE news. Jakarta EE 10 represents a significant milestone, introducing new features and a Core Profile for building lightweight microservices. Applications servers that implement Jakarta EE 10, such as WildFly and Payara, require a modern JDK. Amazon Corretto provides a reliable foundation for these servers, ensuring that enterprises can build and deploy Jakarta EE 10 applications with confidence.
Build Tools and Dependencies: Maven and Gradle
Your choice of JDK is configured at the project level using build tools like Maven or Gradle. Both tools work seamlessly with Corretto. You simply need to set your `JAVA_HOME` environment variable to point to your Corretto installation and configure your build file to target the desired Java version. This ensures that your code is compiled for and runs on the correct JVM.
Here is a snippet from a Maven `pom.xml` file configuring the project to use Java 17, which would be provided by your installed Corretto 17 JDK. This is a common practice covered in Maven news and best practices.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<groupId>com.example</groupId>
<artifactId>corretto-app</artifactId>
<version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
<properties>
<maven.compiler.source>17</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>17</maven.compiler.target>
<project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
</properties>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.10.1</version>
<configuration>
<source>${maven.compiler.source}</source>
<target>${maven.compiler.target}</target>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
</project>Best Practices for Using Amazon Corretto
To make the most of Amazon Corretto, it’s important to follow some best practices regarding version selection, performance, and staying informed about future developments.
Choosing the Right Version: LTS vs. Feature Releases
One of the most common questions is whether to use an LTS release (like Corretto 11 or 17) or a more recent feature release (like Corretto 19 or 20). The guidance is generally straightforward:
- LTS Releases (17, 21, etc.): Use for production applications. They offer years of free security updates and stability, which is paramount for systems that need to be reliable and secure over the long term. This is a key piece of Java wisdom tips news.
- Feature Releases (19, 20, etc.): Use for development, testing, and getting early access to new features and APIs. This allows your team to experiment with capabilities like virtual threads or pattern matching before they are finalized, but they have a much shorter support window.
Performance Tuning and Monitoring
Amazon Corretto is engineered for high performance, especially in cloud environments. It is fully compatible with standard JVM monitoring and profiling tools like Java Flight Recorder (JFR) and Java Mission Control (JMC), as well as third-party APM solutions. Keeping an eye on Java performance news and leveraging these tools can help you fine-tune garbage collection, optimize thread usage, and identify bottlenecks in your application.
Looking Ahead: Project Panama and Valhalla
The innovation doesn’t stop with Project Loom. Other major OpenJDK projects are on the horizon and will eventually land in future Corretto releases.
- Project Panama news focuses on improving and simplifying the connection between the JVM and native code, making it easier to call native libraries without complex JNI code.
- Project Valhalla news aims to enhance Java’s memory layout with value objects and primitive classes, which could lead to massive performance gains by reducing memory overhead and improving cache locality.
Conclusion
The Java ecosystem is more dynamic and powerful than ever, and Amazon Corretto stands at the forefront as a reliable, secure, and cost-effective choice for running modern Java applications. By closely tracking OpenJDK, Corretto gives developers immediate access to transformative features like virtual threads and structured concurrency, while its free long-term support for versions like Corretto 17 provides the stability that enterprises demand.
As frameworks like Spring and Jakarta EE continue to evolve, having a modern, well-supported JDK is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Amazon Corretto fulfills this need perfectly, providing a production-ready foundation for the entire Java ecosystem. For your next project, consider downloading and building with Amazon Corretto to take full advantage of the best that modern Java has to offer.