javaversions

Java has evolved significantly since its inception, introducing numerous features and enhancements across its versions. Here's an overview of the major Java versions and their key features:​

Java SE 1.0 (1996):

Initial release laying the foundation for the Java programming language.​
Java SE 1.1 (1997):

Introduced inner classes, JavaBeans, and JDBC for database connectivity.​
en.wikipedia.org
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stackoverflow.com
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Java SE 2 (1998-2000):

Known as J2SE, it introduced the Collections Framework, Swing for GUI development, and the HotSpot JVM.​
Java SE 5 (2004):

Introduced generics, annotations, enumerations, and the enhanced for-loop.​
en.wikipedia.org
Java SE 6 (2006):

Enhanced Web Services support, included scripting language support (JSR 223), and improvements to the JVM.​
en.wikipedia.org
Java SE 7 (2011):

Introduced the try-with-resources statement, the diamond operator, and the NIO.2 filesystem API.​
en.wikipedia.org
Java SE 8 (2014):

Introduced lambda expressions, the Stream API, and a new Date and Time API.​
Java SE 9 (2017):

Introduced the Java Platform Module System (JPMS) and JShell, an interactive REPL tool.​
en.wikipedia.org
Java SE 10 (2018):

Introduced local-variable type inference using the 'var' keyword.​
en.wikipedia.org
Java SE 11 (2018):

A Long-Term Support (LTS) release that introduced a new HTTP client and removed Java EE and CORBA modules.​
en.wikipedia.org
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en.wikipedia.org
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Java SE 17 (2021):

An LTS release that introduced pattern matching for switch statements and sealed classes.​
en.wikipedia.org
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howtodoinjava.com
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Java SE 21 (2023):

The latest LTS release, introducing features like virtual threads and structured concurrency.​
medium.com
For a comprehensive list of Java versions and their features, you can refer to the Java version history.