What’s the Status of Value Classes in Java?

Value classes are currently under the Valhalla project. There was some hope they might preview in Java 26, but it looks like that's less likely now. It's been a long journey, and I totally get the frustration with the timeline.

Are you asking about the records introduced in JDK 16 or the new performance-oriented types that act like objects but function like primitives? If it's the latter, that’s not making it into JDK 25, and it's unlikely for JDK 26 as well.

It seems like the development plans have been shifting. They’re trying to take a cautious approach to avoid any surprises, especially with so much legacy code involved. Features are rolling out gradually, but they need to tackle issues carefully, like how the new value types will handle null references. For example, Optional will see some changes since value types won’t be able to be null.