The bold parts are what really brought the language forward as a whole. As you see, not every release has bold parts. Java 8 (a.k.a 1.8) JSR 337 , what's new Language changes: lambda expressions ( JSR 335 , includes method handles) continuation of Project Coin (small language improvements) annotations on Java types Library changes: Improved Date and Time API Java 7 (a.k.a 1.7) JSR 336 , features and enhancements Language changes: Project Coin (small changes) switch on Strings try-with-resources diamond operator Library changes: new abstracted file-system API (NIO.2) (with support for virtual filesystems) improved concurrency libraries elliptic curve encryption more incremental upgrades Platform changes: support for dynamic languages Java 6 (a.k.a 1.6) JSR 270 . features and enhancements Mostly incremental improvements to existing libraries, no new language features (except for the @Override snafu ). Java 5 (a.k.a 1.5) JSR...