The Vector API and long incubations

Java 23 Course · lesson 13 of 15 · 3 min read

Eight incubations and counting - and the honest reason it cannot finalise.

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Key points

  • The Vector API expresses SIMD computations that compile to CPU vector instructions.
  • It reached its 8th incubation in 23 - incubator, which is even earlier than preview.
  • It is deliberately blocked: it cannot finalise until Project Valhalla delivers value types.
  • Finalising first would lock in an API that Valhalla would immediately make obsolete.
  • A long incubation is not neglect - sometimes it means the feature is waiting on another one.

The Vector API is waiting on value types - incubating is the honest status, not a stalled project.

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This is a reading copy. The full lesson — with the visual explainer, the interactive lab and a Run button for the code — lives in the Java 23 Course course, and every lesson in it is listed on the Java 23 Course contents page.