The Java Language Specification - Java SE 8 Edition - Final Release

Aug 22, 2026

Java SE 8 Edition of the Java Language Specification defines the formal rules of the Java programming language. It specifies grammar, lexical structure, and tokenization, covering Unicode, identifiers, keywords, literals, operators, and comments. It details language constructs for types, values, variables, conversions, naming and scoping, access control, packages, and class-related declarations and members. The document provides a precise basis for implementing compilers, tools, and language-aware systems that adhere to the specification.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages780

Reading Time32 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Preface to the Java SE 8 Edition

Organization of the Specification

Example Programs

Notation

Relationship to Predefined Classes and Interfaces

Feedback

Introduction

Organization of the Specification

Example Programs

Notation

Relationship to Predefined Classes and Interfaces

Feedback

Grammars

Context-Free Grammars

The Lexical Grammar

The Syntactic Grammar

Grammar Notation

Lexical Structure

Unicode

Lexical Translations

Unicode Escapes

Line Terminators

Input Elements and Tokens

White Space

Comments

Identifiers

Keywords

Literals

Separators

Operators

Types, Values, and Variables

Kinds of Types and Values

Primitive Types and Values

Reference Types and Values

Type Variables

Parameterized Types

Type Erasure

Reifiable Types

Raw Types

Intersection Types

Subtyping

Where Types Are Used

Variables

The Java® Language Specification Java SE 8 Edition James Gosling Bill Joy Guy Steele Gilad Bracha Alex Buckley 2014-03-03 Specification: JSR-337 Java® SE 8 Release Contents ("Specification") Version: 8 Status: Final Release Release: March 2014 Copyright © 1997, 2014, Oracle America, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, California 94065, U.S.A. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names maybe trademarks oftheir respective owners. The Specification provided herein is provided to you only under the Limited License Grant included herein as Appendix A. Please see Appendix A, Limited License Grant. To Maurizio, with deepest thanks. Table of Contents Preface to the Java SE 8 Edition xix 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Organization of the Specification 2 1.2 Example Programs 6 1.3 Notation 6 1.4 Relationship to Predefined Classes and Interfaces 7 1.5 Feedback 7 1.6 References 7 2 Grammars 9 2.1 Context-Free Grammars 9 2.2 The Lexical Grammar 9 2.3 The Syntactic Grammar 10 2.4 Grammar Notation 10 3 Lexical Structure 15 3.1 Unicode 15 3.2 Lexical Translations 16 3.3 Unicode Escapes 17 3.4 Line Terminators 19 3.5 Input Elements and Tokens 19 3.6 White Space 20 3.7 Comments 21 3.8 Identifiers 22 3.9 Keywords 24 3.10 Literals 24 3.10.1 Integer Literals 25 3.10.2 Floating-Point Literals 31 3.10.3 Boolean Literals 34 3.10.4 Character Literals 34 3.10.5 String Literals 35 3.10.6 Escape Sequences for Character and String Literals 37 3.10.7 The Null Literal 38 3.11 Separators 38 3.12 Operators 39 The Java® Language Specification 4 Types, Values, and Variables 41 4.1 The Kinds of Types and Values 41 4.2 Primitive Types and Values 42 4.2.1 Integral Types and Values 43 4.2.2 Integer Operations 43 4.2.3 Floating-Point Types, Formats, and Values 45 4.2.4 Floating-Point Operations 48 4.2.5 The boolean Type and boolean Values 51 4.3 Reference Types and Values 52 4.3.1 Objects 53 4.3.2 The Class Object 56 4.3.3 The Class String 56 4.3.4 When Reference Types Are the Same 57 4.4 Type Variables 57 4.5 Parameterized Types 59 4.5.1 Type Arguments of Parameterized Types 60 4.5.2 Members and Constructors of Parameterized Types 63 4.6 Type Erasure 64 4.7 Reifiable Types 65 4.8 Raw Types 66 4.9 Intersection Types 70 4.10 Subtyping 71 4.10.1 Subtyping among Primitive Types 71 4.10.2 Subtyping among Class and Interface Types 72 4.10.3 Subtyping among Array Types 73 4.10.4 Least Upper Bound 73 4.11 Where Types Are Used 76 4.12 Variables 80 4.12.1 Variables of Primitive Type 81 4.12.2 Variables of Reference Type 81 4.12.3 Kinds of Variables 83 4.12.4 final Variables 85 4.12.5 Initial Values of Variables 87 4.12.6 Types, Classes, and Interfaces 88 5 Conversions and Contexts 91 5.1 Kinds of Conversion 94 5.1.1 Identity Conversion 94 5.1.2 Widening Primitive Conversion 94 5.1.3 Narrowing Primitive Conversion 96 5.1.4 Widening and Narrowing Primitive Conversion 99 5.1.5 Widening Reference Conversion 99 5.1.6 Narrowing Reference Conversion 99 5.1.7 Boxing Conversion 100 5.1.8 Unboxing Conversion 102 5.1.9 Unchecked Conversion 103 5.1.10 Capture Conversion 103 The Java® Language Specification 5.1.11 String Conversion 105 5.1.12 Forbidden Conversions 106 5.1.13 Value Set Conversion 106 5.2 Assignment Contexts 107 5.3 Invocation Contexts 112 5.4 String Contexts 114 5.5 Casting Contexts 114 5.5.1 Reference Type Casting 118 5.5.2 Checked Casts and Unchecked Casts 122 5.5.3 Checked Casts at Run Time 123 5.6 Numeric Contexts 125 5.6.1 Unary Numeric Promotion 125 5.6.2 Binary Numeric Promotion 126 6 Names 129 6.1 Declarations 130 6.2 Names and Identifiers 137 6.3 Scope of a Declaration 139 6.4 Shadowing and Obscuring 142 6.4.1 Shadowing 144 6.4.2 Obscuring 147 6.5 Determinin

FAQs

What does the Java SE 8 Edition specification cover?

It covers the Java language’s formal definition, including grammars, lexical structure, types and values, conversions, names and scopes, access control, packages, and class declarations and members.

What are the main parts of the specification related to syntax?

It defines grammars (context-free and lexical/syntactic grammar) and details lexical structure such as Unicode handling, identifiers, keywords, literals, separators, and operators.

How does the specification treat types and conversions in Java?

It describes kinds of types and values, including primitive and reference types, and explains conversion rules such as identity, widening/narrowing, boxing/unboxing, and casting contexts.

Aug 22, 2026

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