Java Ecosystem Update: TomEE 10, Struts 7, and the Evolution from Java 8 to Jakarta EE

The Java landscape is in a constant state of evolution. While many enterprises still maintain a significant footprint in Java 8 news circles due to its long-term stability, the ecosystem is aggressively moving forward. This week marks a pivotal moment in Java ecosystem news with major General Availability (GA) releases that signal the maturity of the Jakarta EE era. Specifically, the releases of Apache TomEE 10.0.0 and Apache Struts 7.0.0, alongside updates for Payara Platform and Infinispan, demonstrate a robust commitment to modernizing the enterprise Java stack.

For developers who cut their teeth on Java 8 news and features like Lambdas and Streams, these updates represent the next logical step. These frameworks are not just updating version numbers; they are fundamentally shifting the baseline to newer Java versions (Java 17 and Java 21 news), enforcing the transition from the javax namespace to jakarta, and integrating cloud-native patterns. This article explores these critical updates, providing technical depth, code examples, and migration strategies for the modern Java developer.

The Era of Jakarta EE 10: Apache TomEE 10.0.0

Apache TomEE has long been a favorite for developers wanting the lightness of Tomcat with the power of Jakarta EE (formerly Java EE). The release of Apache TomEE 10.0.0 is significant because it brings full compliance with Jakarta EE 10. This is massive Jakarta EE news because it standardizes the Core Profile, intended for microservices, and updates the Web Profile.

Core Concepts and Modernization

TomEE 10 is built on top of Apache Tomcat 10.1, which requires Java 11 as a minimum, though Java 17 news suggests using LTS versions for production is best practice. The shift here involves the “Big Bang” migration—renaming all javax.* packages to jakarta.*. However, the coding style remains rooted in the functional enhancements introduced in Java 8.

When building microservices with TomEE 10, developers heavily utilize the Stream API to process data returned from Jakarta Persistence (JPA) queries or REST clients. The combination of Jakarta EE annotations and Java 8 functional programming creates concise, readable code.

Below is an example of a modern Jakarta EE Resource in TomEE 10, utilizing Java 8 Streams to filter and map data. This demonstrates how legacy Java 8 concepts are foundational even in the newest frameworks.

package com.example.tomee.resources;

import jakarta.ws.rs.GET;
import jakarta.ws.rs.Path;
import jakarta.ws.rs.Produces;
import jakarta.ws.rs.core.MediaType;
import jakarta.inject.Inject;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;
import java.util.Optional;

@Path("/products")
public class ProductResource {

    @Inject
    private ProductService productService;

    @GET
    @Path("/active")
    @Produces(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
    public List<ProductDto> getActiveProducts() {
        // Utilizing Java 8 Stream API within a Jakarta EE 10 context
        return productService.findAll().stream()
            .filter(product -> "ACTIVE".equals(product.getStatus()))
            .filter(product -> product.getPrice() > 0)
            .map(this::convertToDto)
            .collect(Collectors.toList());
    }

    private ProductDto convertToDto(Product product) {
        // Using Optional to handle potential null descriptions safely
        String description = Optional.ofNullable(product.getDescription())
                                     .orElse("No description available");
        
        return new ProductDto(product.getName(), product.getPrice(), description);
    }
}

In this snippet, while the annotations (@Path, @Inject) are from the Jakarta EE 10 specification supported by TomEE 10, the logic relies on the Stream interface and Optional class. This highlights that Java 8 news regarding language features is still relevant; the syntax introduced a decade ago is now the standard dialect for modern enterprise frameworks.

Apache Struts 7.0.0: Security and Resilience

Apache Struts has been a cornerstone of the web framework landscape for nearly two decades. The release of Apache Struts 7.0.0 is major Java security news. This version is not just a feature update; it is a comprehensive overhaul designed to mitigate historical security vulnerabilities and align with modern Servlet specifications.

Implementation Details in Struts 7

Struts 7.0.0 finally drops support for older Servlet APIs and requires a minimum of Servlet API 6.0 (Jakarta EE 10). This forces the upgrade to the Jakarta namespace. Furthermore, it cleans up a significant amount of technical debt by removing deprecated plugins and enforcing stricter OGNL (Object-Graph Navigation Language) security policies.

For developers maintaining legacy Struts applications, this is a call to action. You cannot simply drop the JAR in; you must refactor. However, Struts 7 embraces modern Java features. You can now write Actions that leverage Java’s concurrency improvements and functional interfaces more natively.

Here is an example of a Struts 7 Action that processes a list of user inputs. Notice the use of CompletableFuture (introduced in Java 8) to handle processing asynchronously, a pattern that is increasingly common in high-throughput web applications.

package com.example.struts.actions;

import com.opensymphony.xwork2.ActionSupport;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import org.apache.struts2.ServletActionContext;
import java.util.concurrent.CompletableFuture;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Arrays;

public class AsyncProcessingAction extends ActionSupport {

    private List<String> data;
    private String resultMessage;

    public String execute() {
        // Simulating incoming data
        data = Arrays.asList("input1", "input2", "input3");

        // Java 8 CompletableFuture for asynchronous processing
        CompletableFuture<Void> future = CompletableFuture.runAsync(() -> {
            processHeavyData(data);
        }).thenRun(() -> {
            this.resultMessage = "Processing Complete for " + data.size() + " items.";
        });

        try {
            // In a real scenario, we might return a WAIT result or use Async capabilities of Servlet 6.0
            future.get(); 
            return SUCCESS;
        } catch (InterruptedException | ExecutionException e) {
            addActionError("Error during processing: " + e.getMessage());
            return ERROR;
        }
    }

    private void processHeavyData(List<String> items) {
        // Functional style iteration
        items.forEach(item -> {
            System.out.println("Processing: " + item);
            // Simulate work
            try { Thread.sleep(100); } catch (InterruptedException e) {}
        });
    }

    public String getResultMessage() {
        return resultMessage;
    }
}

This code illustrates the bridge between the Java concurrency news of the past (CompletableFuture) and the framework updates of today. Struts 7 ensures that the underlying container (Tomcat, Jetty, etc.) handles the request lifecycle securely while allowing developers to write clean, concurrent Java code.

Data Grids and Caching: Infinispan 15.1.0

Alongside application servers and MVC frameworks, the data layer has received significant updates. Infinispan 15.1.0 brings enhancements to distributed caching and stream processing. For those following Java performance news, Infinispan is crucial for reducing database load in microservices architectures.

Advanced Techniques with Infinispan

Infinispan 15.1.0 improves integration with Spring Boot news ecosystems and Quarkus. It allows for advanced querying capabilities over the data grid (Ickle queries) and supports reactive streams. This is where Reactive Java news intersects with data management.

One of the most powerful features in modern Infinispan is the ability to use Java Streams directly on the distributed cache. This allows you to perform computation where the data lives rather than pulling data to the client application. This concept, often called “distributed streams,” relies heavily on the serialization of Java 8 Lambda expressions.

package com.example.infinispan;

import org.infinispan.Cache;
import org.infinispan.manager.DefaultCacheManager;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class CacheAnalytics {

    public void analyzeCacheData() {
        DefaultCacheManager cacheManager = new DefaultCacheManager();
        Cache<String, UserSession> cache = cacheManager.getCache("sessions");

        // Populate with dummy data
        cache.put("user1", new UserSession("user1", 120)); // 120 mins duration
        cache.put("user2", new UserSession("user2", 45));
        cache.put("user3", new UserSession("user3", 200));

        // Distributed Stream execution
        // This lambda is serialized and sent to the nodes holding the data
        Map<String, Integer> longSessions = cache.entrySet().stream()
            .filter(e -> e.getValue().getDuration() > 60) // Filter sessions > 60 mins
            .collect(Collectors.toMap(
                Map.Entry::getKey, 
                e -> e.getValue().getDuration()
            ));

        System.out.println("Long sessions: " + longSessions);
        
        cacheManager.stop();
    }

    // Simple POJO
    static class UserSession implements java.io.Serializable {
        private String username;
        private int duration;

        public UserSession(String username, int duration) {
            this.username = username;
            this.duration = duration;
        }

        public int getDuration() { return duration; }
    }
}

This example demonstrates the longevity of Java 8 news concepts. The Stream API is not just for local collections; in Infinispan 15.1.0, it becomes a tool for distributed computing. The serialization of the lambda expression e -> e.getValue().getDuration() > 60 allows the logic to travel across the network.

Best Practices and Ecosystem Considerations

With updates to Payara Platform (December updates) and GlassFish 8.0.0-M9 also making headlines, the ecosystem is crowded. Here are essential best practices for navigating this wave of Java SE news and framework updates.

1. The “Big Bang” Migration Strategy

Moving to TomEE 10 or Struts 7 requires handling the Jakarta EE namespace change. You cannot mix javax.servlet and jakarta.servlet libraries in the same classpath effectively. Use tools like the Eclipse Transformer or OpenRewrite to automate the package renaming in your source code and dependencies. This is often discussed in Maven news and Gradle news as build tools now include plugins to handle this transformation automatically.

2. Embrace Newer Java Versions

While we discuss the legacy of Java 8, running these new frameworks on Java 8 is often impossible or ill-advised. Java 17 news and Java 21 news emphasize performance gains, specifically with Garbage Collection (ZGC) and the introduction of Virtual Threads (Project Loom). TomEE 10 running on Java 21 can handle significantly more concurrent requests than on older JVMs due to Virtual Threads.

3. Testing with JUnit 5 and Mockito

With major framework upgrades, regression testing is critical. JUnit news highlights the power of JUnit 5’s extension model. When upgrading Struts or TomEE, ensure your unit tests are decoupled from the container logic using Mockito.

// Testing a Service used in TomEE 10
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.extension.ExtendWith;
import org.mockito.Mock;
import org.mockito.junit.jupiter.MockitoExtension;
import static org.mockito.Mockito.*;
import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;

@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
class ProductServiceTest {

    @Mock
    private ProductRepository repository;

    @Test
    void testFindActiveProducts() {
        // Setup
        ProductService service = new ProductService(repository);
        when(repository.findAll()).thenReturn(List.of(new Product("Test", 100, "ACTIVE")));

        // Execute
        List<Product> result = service.findActive();

        // Verify
        assertFalse(result.isEmpty());
        assertEquals("Test", result.get(0).getName());
    }
}

4. Stay Updated on Security

The update to Struts 7 is largely driven by security. In the context of Java security news, keeping dependencies updated is the number one defense against supply chain attacks. Tools like Dependabot or Renovate should be configured to track these GA releases immediately.

5. Emerging Trends: AI and Cloud

While not part of the core server releases, Spring AI news and libraries like LangChain4j news are influencing how these application servers are used. Developers are increasingly deploying Jakarta EE applications that serve as backends for AI agents. Ensuring your TomEE or Payara instance is optimized for low-latency REST calls is vital for these integrations.

Conclusion

The release of Apache TomEE 10.0.0 and Struts 7.0.0 marks a definitive end to the transition period between the old Java EE and the new Jakarta EE. While the syntax and functional patterns introduced in Java 8 news a decade ago remain the bedrock of daily coding—evident in our use of Streams, Lambdas, and Optional—the runtime environment has changed dramatically.

Developers must now navigate the jakarta namespace, adopt Java 17 or Java 21 as their runtime, and leverage the improved security and performance features of these updated platforms. Whether you are managing a legacy Struts application or building a new microservice on TomEE, the path forward involves embracing these updates. The “Java psyop news” might jokingly suggest that Java is dying, but the vibrant activity in OpenJDK news and the release of these robust enterprise frameworks prove that the ecosystem is stronger and more active than ever.

Next Steps: Audit your current dependencies. If you are on TomEE 8 or 9, plan your migration to version 10. If you use Struts, version 7 is a mandatory upgrade for security compliance. Start refactoring your code to fully utilize the functional programming capabilities that have matured since Java 8, and prepare your infrastructure for the next generation of Java applications.