Java 8 Features

In this lesson: Top Java 8 features — lambda expressions, Stream API, functional interfaces, Optional, default methods — examples.

What Java 8 Added

The five features you must know are: lambda expressions, functional interfaces, the Stream API, default methods, and Optional. Let's see each with a working example.

1. Lambda Expressions

A lambda expression is a short, anonymous function — a block of code you can pass around like a value. It removes the need for bulky anonymous classes. The syntax is (parameters) -> { body }.

// Old way (before Java 8)
Runnable r1 = new Runnable() {
    public void run() { System.out.println("Hello"); }
};

// Java 8 lambda — one line
Runnable r2 = () -> System.out.println("Hello");
r2.run();

Hello

2. Functional Interfaces

A functional interface is an interface with exactly one abstract method. Lambdas can only be used with functional interfaces. Java marks them with the @FunctionalInterface annotation. Common built-in ones are Runnable, Comparator, Predicate and Function.

// Predicate takes a value and returns true/false
import java.util.function.Predicate;

Predicate<Integer> isEven = n -> n % 2 == 0;
System.out.println(isEven.test(10));  // true
System.out.println(isEven.test(7));   // false

true
false

3. Stream API

The Stream API lets you process a collection (like a list) as a pipeline of operations — filter, map, sort, collect — without writing loops. Streams are lazy and readable.

import java.util.*;
import java.util.stream.*;

List<Integer> nums = Arrays.asList(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6);

// keep even numbers, double them, collect to a list
List<Integer> result = nums.stream()
        .filter(n -> n % 2 == 0)
        .map(n -> n * 2)
        .collect(Collectors.toList());

System.out.println(result);

[4, 8, 12]

4. Default Methods

Before Java 8, interfaces could not have method bodies. Default methods allow an interface to provide a ready-made implementation using the default keyword. This let Java add new methods to old interfaces without breaking existing code.

interface Greet {
    default void hello() {
        System.out.println("Hello from default method");
    }
}
class Demo implements Greet {}

// Demo gets hello() for free
new Demo().hello();

Hello from default method

5. Optional

Optional is a container that may or may not hold a value. It helps you avoid the dreaded NullPointerException by forcing you to handle the "no value" case explicitly.

import java.util.Optional;

Optional<String> name = Optional.ofNullable(null);
System.out.println(name.orElse("Guest"));  // safe default

Guest

Quick Summary Table

Summary

• Java 8 (2014) added functional programming to Java.
• Lambda = short anonymous function using ->.
• Functional interface = one abstract method; enables lambdas.
• Stream API processes collections as a pipeline (filter, map, collect).
• Default methods add bodies to interfaces; Optional avoids null errors.