Java Roundup: Groovy 5.0 GA, Project Leyden, and JDK 25 Nears Release

For a language that turned 30 not long ago, Java is still making waves. It remains one of the most stable foundations of modern software and it’s quietly carving out a space in AI development as well, where performance and tooling really matter. This week’s updates show how the ecosystem continues to evolve, balancing innovation with long-term stability.

Here’s some new Java news in a minute:

• Groovy 5.0.0 GA Fully compatible with JDK 11-25, Groovy’s new release introduces @OperatorRename and a modern REPL with highlighting, history, and smarter completion.

• Project Leyden Early Access Build 26-leydenpremain+1 brings ahead-of-time compilation gains for faster startup, improved “time to peak performance,” and reduced memory footprint.

• JEP 522 (G1 GC) Candidate proposal targeting throughput boosts by cutting synchronization overhead between GC and application threads.

• JDK Early Access

  • JDK 25: Build 36: the countdown to the September LTS release is on.
  • JDK 26: Build 13 with incremental improvements.

• Open Liberty 25.0.0.9 Beta The latest beta refreshes the Liberty runtime.

• Ecosystem Releases Updates for JReleaser, LangChain4j, Quarkus, and Camel Quarkus.

• Hibernate Validator 9.1.0 Alpha First alpha release available for early testing.

Bottom line: Groovy 5.0, Leyden’s AOT initiative, and JDK 25’s upcoming LTS release show that Java isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving, and still shaping the future of software development!

Source: Info Q