1. Why Java 8?

Before Java 8, Java code was often more verbose, especially when passing behavior as an argument or processing collections.

For example, suppose you want to print every name:

List<String> names = Arrays.asList("A", "B", "C");

for (String name : names) {
    System.out.println(name);
}

Java 8 introduced lambda expressions, allowing us to express the same behavior more concisely:

names.forEach(name -> System.out.println(name));

Java 8 also introduced the Stream API, which made operations such as filtering, mapping, sorting, and collecting much easier.

So Java 8 was introduced to provide:

• more concise code
• functional programming support
• better collection/data processing
• easier handling of behavior as values
• modern APIs and improvements

The important idea is:

Java 8 brought functional-style programming into Java while keeping Java object-oriented.

2. Major Java 8 Features

The most important Java 8 features are:

1. Lambda Expressions