The Java Module System - maven for the java apis?

[Will Myers]

I haven't looked at the module system yet but is it just a way of packaging just the core libraries APIs that you need? A bit like Maven for external dependencies?

Do you need to use it from Java 9 or can you continue to work the same way as before?

[Campbell Ritchie]

You can still work without modules, yes.
If you do start to declare your classes as belonging to a module as well as a package, it will be necessary to import core modules, except for java.base, which is implicitly imported into every module rather like the way all classes in java.lang are implicitly imported by classes in every package.

[Sai Hegde]

Java Bloat has been my biggest pet peeve for a long time now and why I started programming in Golang for some of my personal projects. But Jigsaw is a welcome change and a step in the right direction for Java. I think there is a maturity model for the use of the Java Module System... As I typed that, I googled to see if there was someone who had outbeaten me to the idea... and surprise JPMS Maturity Model Thanks Nikolai

[Nicolai Parlog]

@Will: I think Campbell answered your second question, but I'm not sure I get the first. To me the term "packaging" means "putting bytecode into a JAR", but I think you mean something else, right? If you're thinking about putting a bunch of modules into a runtime image, then, yes, that's something the module system allows you to do - have a look at the jlink documentation for more on that. Or ask here. And in case I misunderstood you, please clarify and I'll try to answer.

@Sai: Sure thing.