Please see also Part 1: Java 9, OSGi and the Future of Modularity. This continues our deep-dive into OSGI and the Java Platform Module System (JPMS), scheduled to be released as part of Java 9.

To ease migration to Java 9’s new modularity approach, Mark Reinhold, Oracle’s chief Java architect, proposed illegal reflective access, which would allow this access by default in the release ...

But the new Java Platform Module System features need development tools to really take advantage of them. Here is where several key Java development tools stand in their modularity support.

Oracle have announced the second set of enhancement proposals (known as JEPs) that will deliver features for Java 9, including major news about Java modularity.

Java 9 could introduce modularity and new value types. Improved modularity could reduce app size and improve startup performance. New value types will make it easier to program arrays.

It's been a long wait, but it's finally here: Oracle announced today the general availability of Java SE 9, the Java Platform Enterprise Edition 8 and the Java EE 8 Software Development Kit.

Oracle has shipped Java 9 and Java EE 8, including support for modularity in Java 9 and a host of other features in both specifications to simplify development.

As Oracle has been prone to do for the past nine months, company officials Tuesday pledged a strong commitment to Java technology. They even offered glimpses of a modular future for the platform.

Beyond Java EE 6, modularity will be key, according to the Oracle officials. OSGi, meanwhile, plays an important part of the Java ecosystem and Java platform overall, Harris said.

The keynote emphasized Oracle plans to develop new features to appear in Java 9 in 2016, as well as features to appear in later releases. Mark Reinhold, Chief Architect of the Java Platform Group at ...