The Java Class File API marks a significant advancement in bytecode manipulation, offering a modern and streamlined approach for interacting with Java class files, that comes bundled with the JVM. This presentation provides an introduction to the Java Class File API, highlighting its key features and capabilities. We will compare it to ASM, the current de facto bytecode manipulation library, examining differences in design, usability, and performance. Additionally, we will analyze the potential impact of the Java Class File API on the Java ecosystem, including how it might influence the development of new tools, frameworks, and libraries, as well as its implications for existing ones that currently rely on ASM.

Talk Level:
INTERMEDIATE

Bio:
Rafael works as a software consultant in Oslo, Norway. He is a proponent of static typing and a JVM enthusiast with particular interest in code instrumentation, concurrency and functional programming. Rafael blogs about software development, regularly presents at conferences and was pronounced a JavaOne Rock Star. When coding outside of his work place, he contributes to a wide range of open source projects and often works on Byte Buddy, a library for simple runtime code generation for the Java virtual machine. For his work, Rafael received a Duke's Choice, an Oracle groundbreaker award award and was elected a Java Champion.