It seems like only yesterday that Java 7 was released, books are still being updated to Java 7 (although some books will skip 7 and will focus instead on Java 8). It's still an exciting time to be a Java developer. Java 8 is a whole new refresh. https://blogs.oracle.com/java/entry/java_se_8_is_now Oracle: Java SE 8 Oracle: What's new in Java 8 JDK 8 release notes