Java Language Extensions Links

JSR #14: Adding Generic Types (aka Templates) To Java
http://www.jcp.org/jsr/detail/14.jsp

JSR #201: Extending Java with Enumerations, Autoboxing, Enhanced for Loops and Static Import
http://www.jcp.org/jsr/detail/201.jsp

Draft Spec for Type-Safe Enumerations
http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/jsr/tiger/enum.html
Enum Sneak Preview Example:

public enum Suit { clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades }

foreach( Day d in Day.monday .. Day.friday )

Draft Spec for Autoboxing
http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/jsr/tiger/autoboxing.html
Automatic conversion from primitive types (such as boolean, int, char, and so on) to their corresponding reference type wrappers (such as Boolean, Integer, Character, and so on) to reduce clutter.

Draft Spec for Enhanced for Loops (aka foreach)
http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/jsr/tiger/enhanced-for.html
Enhanced for loops allow iteration over collections without explicitly defined iterators reducing boilerplate iteration coding and opportunities for errors (such as endless loops). Foreach Sneak Preview Example:

foreach( Task task in tasks )   
  task.stop(); 

instead of

Iterator it = tasks.iterator(); 
while( it.hasNext() ) 
{ 
  Task task = (Task) it.next();   
  task.stop(); 
}

Draft Spec for Static Imports
http://jcp.org/aboutJava/communityprocess/jsr/tiger/static-import.html
Allow the use of unqualified constants.

JSR #175: Meta Data (aka Attributes) for Java
http://www.jcp.org/jsr/detail/175.jsp
Allow marking classes, interfaces, fields, and methods with attributes (aka meta data).

JSR #199: Java Compiler API
http://www.jcp.org/jsr/detail/199.jsp
A service provider API allowing a Java program to select and invoke a Java Compiler using code.

Bali - Java with a Spoonful of Syntactic Sugar
http://mindprod.com/bali.html
Proposals listing pros and cons by Roedy Green include:

• C#-like Java Bean Properties
• The Grand Collection Unification
• Enumerations
• Constructor Shortcut
• Iterate Shortcut (foreach)
• Null Method Shortcut (..)
• Short constant names
• Explicit Override
• and many more

James Strachan's Weblog J* Proposal
http://radio.weblogs.com/0112098/stories/2002/11/12/j.html
Suggested language extension include:

• A constant for the current class instance
• Support for C# style properties
• Similar C# style syntax sugar for listeners
• foreach statement
• using statement
• Switch statement to support any Object

10 Reasons We Need Java 3
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2002/07/31/java3.html
Most suggestions by Elliotte Rusty Harold (July 2002) go beyond language extensions. Most popular article at O'Reilly's Java site in 2002 according to Steve Anglin's Weblog, even spawned a Wiki site. Distilled version available through Elliotte Rusty Harold's Javapolis talk slides (November 2002) entitled Refactoring Java. Here's Elliotte Rusty Harold's top 10 list:

• Delete all deprecated methods, fields, classes, and interfaces.
• Fix incorrect naming conventions.
• Eliminate primitive data types.
• Extend chars to four bytes.
• Fix threads.
• Convert file formats to XML.
• Ditch the AWT.
• Rationalize the collections.
• Redesign I/O.
• Redesign class loading from scratch, this time with human interface factors in mind.

XDoclet - Attribute Oriented Programming Using Javadoc-like attributes
http://xdoclet.sourceforge.net

Open Directory Java Language Extension Chapter
http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Programming/Languages/Java/Extensions/

Robert Tolksdorf's Programming Languages for the Java Virtual Machine Directory
http://grunge.cs.tu-berlin.de/~tolk/vmlanguages.html

Python Scripting Language
http://www.python.org | http://www.jython.org

Velocity Template Language
http://jakarta.apache.org/velocity

C# (C-Sharp) Programming Language - Official ECMA Standard (ECMA-334)
http://www.ecma.ch/ecma1/stand/ECMA-334.htm