It also helps replace if-else statement chains with switch, improving code readability. Also, case labels are no longer limited to constant values. The type of the selector expression that can be used with a switch is expanded to any reference value. Pattern matching for switch adds patterns to the case labels in the switch statements and switch expressions. However, as you’ll combine it with other language features like pattern matching for switch and sealed classes, you’ll be amazed by what you can achieve. Initially this might not seem a very big deal. Compare record patterns with deconstruction of a record – the ability to extract the values of components of a record to a set of variables, when an instance matches the structure of a record. Record Patterns simplify access to components of a record. IntelliJ IDEA supports basic syntax highlighting for Virtual Threads and the team is working on adding support for the Virtual Threads in its debugger and profiler.

I didn’t cover other Java 19 features like Virtual threads, a preview API, intentionally. In this blog post, I will limit the coverage of Java 19 to its language features – Record Patterns and Pattern Matching for switch (third preview). IntelliJ IDEA helps us to discover and use these new features, without making them overwhelming for us. Its shorter release cadence lets us all try out its new language or platform features, every six months.

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