Top key events of Java in 2011

The Release of Java 7

Five years after Java 6, Oracle brought Java 7 to us in July 2011, with new I/O APIs, support for dynamically typed languages and some other small language enhancements.

As software developers, we all understand that it’s tough to meet a deadline, so we really shouldn’t complain about the delay in Java 7. At least Mark Reinhold and company have got a pretty good roadmap in place for the follow on release of Java 8, late 2012.

Oracle vs Google

Oracle’s lawsuit against Google has been going on a while now and the trial date has been pushed to 2012. It seems Oracle is keen to get the trial going as soon as possible, with their claim that Java is ‘losing ground to Android’.

The Ongoing Rise of Android

A review of the year would be incomplete without some mention of Android. With the latest repost of three million Android device activations over Christmas weekend, the momentum of Google’s mobile OS shows no signs of stopping.

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