Inside Java

While Java programs are deployed as bytecode, performance-relevant code will be compiled, at run time, to machine code whose performance rivals that of any other platform. In the HotSpot JVM, this is the job of the just-in-time compilers C1 and C2 and between speculation and traps, inlining and constant folding, escape analysis and scalar replacement (and many more), they apply a number of heuristics, analyses, and transformations to achieve that. This requires expertise, careful research, thorough testing, and regular reevaluations of old assumptions.
In this "Ask the Architects" episode of the Inside Java Podcast, recorded during JavaOne 2026, Nicolai Parlog talks to Roberto Lozano, compiler engineer at the Java Platform Group at Oracle.
In our show "Ask the Architects", we talk to experts in OpenJDK about their work on the Java language, API, and runtime.

Spring AI 2.0 released in June 2026 and is one of several projects ensuring Java's continued strength in enterprise AI development. Here are some tips on deterministic agents, MCP servers and skills, prompt engineering, and where Java's richness for AI solutions stems from.
In this "Input/Output" episode of the Inside Java Podcast, recorded during JavaOne 2026, Lize Raes talks to Dan Vega, Spring Developer Advocate at Broadcom, Java Champion, speaker, and author.
"Input/Output" is our new show, where we talk to people outside of OpenJDK to bring you their perspectives and insights into what's happening in the Java ecosystem.

JDK 27 entered Ramp-Down-Phase 1 in early June, so we can go over its features. Valhalla's first JDK Enhancement Proposal (401) will likely be part of JDK 28. Show off your Java ideas in the "Modern Java in the Wild" hackathon. There are two interesting articles for those who want to dive deeper into AOT with agents or into using GPU tensor cores from Java.
Links:
JDK 27 JEP list: https://openjdk.org/projects/jdk/27/
Valhalla mail: https://mail.openjdk.org/archives/list/jdk-dev@openjdk.org/threadAIA3O3LHFZ6T7TIPH7KZT4WS4B6U72U5/
JEP 401 PR: https://github.com/openjdk/jdk/pull/31120
"Java in the Wild" hackathon: https://www.hackster.io/contests/modern-java-in-the-wild
AOT vs agents: https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK-8387190
AOT and JVMTI agents: https://bugs.openjdk.org/browse/JDK-8387194
"Exploiting GPU Tensor Cores": https://openjdk.org/projects/babylon/articles/hat-tensors/hat-tensors

OpenJDK recently resurrected Project Detroit, an effort to ease Java's interoperability with Python and JavaScript. Interestingly, while both integrations will work through the _java.scripting_ API, there are still differences between them. On top of that, the JavaScript integration needs to explain how it related to the removal of Nashorn in JDK 16.
In this "Ask the Architect" episode of the Inside Java Podcast, recorded during JavaOne 2026, Nicolai Parlog talks to Mikael Vidsted, lead of the Java Virtual Machine team at Oracle, about Project Detroit.
Project Detroit: https://openjdk.org/projects/detroit/

JDK Enhancement Proposals are OpenJDK's vehicle for documenting and communicating substantial changes of the Java language, its APIs, and the runtime but also the JDK project itself, for example when it comes to development processes. Their well-defined structure and the immense care that goes into writing them make them eminently readable and understanding them well is essential to understanding Java's development.

In this "Ask the Architect" episode of the Inside Java Podcast, recorded during JavaOne 2026, Nicolai Parlog talks to Alex Buckley, the Guardian of the JEP process.