Building with Java 1.8

I’m wondering why the build process is still insisting on using Java 1.7 to build the OH1 addons.

Is there a reason we can’t start using 1.8?

I think it’s on the way: https://github.com/eclipse/smarthome/issues/2926

Is this something that is essential to setting up a build environment?
The getting started page on that subject explicitly mentions that Oracle JDK 8 is a requirement.

I just attempted to follow these instructions and I ended up with an unworkable setup that contains hundreds of “A class file was not written. The project may be inconsistent, if so try refreshing this project and building it” errors for groovy files.

I realize that JDK != JRE, but this seems confusing.

This should not happen, the getting started should work. Maybe you could uninstall and try again?

To tidy up the confusion: Yes, JDK 8 is required, but currently Java 8 features like lambdas cannot be used in the code because the source level is set to Java 7 (this is what @namraccr meant) . The JDK supports building older versions of the java language and this feature is also used by OpenHab so that it’s backwards-compatible.

I guess that it should not, but it does, even after reinstalling everything from scratch.
This thread seems to be getting off topic, so I’ll try again today and if I can’t get it to work I’ll start a new dedicated thread for support with this issue.

Yes, JDK 8 is required, but currently Java 8 features like lambdas cannot be used in the code because the source level is set to Java 7

Not sure this is the case? See this commit

So I believe now at least the openHAB v1 addons are built with jdk8, targeting java8. Or am I missing something?

Best,
Sami

No, you’re right, I missed that commit. This also applies to OpenHab 2 addons. Only ESH is pending.