An introduction to data classes

We know of two versions of data classes—POJO (the old, existing form) and the newly proposed data classes. To understand the data classes that are being worked on in Project Amber, you'll need to know the capabilities and limitations of the existing POJO classes and why we need the newly proposed classes.

POJO is not implemented using a language construct. The proposed data classes would include changes or additions to the programming language.

What is a data class?

As a Java developer, you have probably used and created POJOs in some (or all) of your projects. A POJO is a class that encapsulates a set of data, without any additional behavior to manipulate its state. It usually...