What major changes and new features were introduced in Java version 8?

Java 8 introduced several key changes and new features:

• Lambda expressions — allow writing more concise and expressive functional code.
• Stream API — for convenient working with collections, supporting filtering, mapping, aggregation, and parallel processing.
• Interfaces with default methods — enable adding methods with implementations in interfaces without breaking existing code.
• New date and time API (java.time) — more convenient and safer compared to the outdated Date and Calendar.
• Optional — a class for handling the possible absence of a value, helping to avoid NullPointerException.
• Performance improvements and JVM enhancements — such as improvements in garbage collection.

Example of lambda expression and Stream API:

List<String> names = Arrays.asList("Anna", "Bob", "Charlie");
names.stream()
     .filter(name -> name.startsWith("A"))
     .forEach(System.out::println); // Will output "Anna"