Project Lambda: Functional Programming Constructs in Java - Simon Ritter (Oracle)

Project Lambda: Functional
Programming Constructs In
Java
Simon Ritter
Head of Java Evangelism
Oracle Corporation

Twitter: @speakjava
2

Copyright © 2012, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

The following is intended to outline our general product
direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may
not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to
deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be
relied upon in making purchasing decisions.
The development, release, and timing of any features or
functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole
discretion of Oracle.

3


Some Background

4


Computing Today
 Multicore is now the default
– Moore’s law means more cores, not faster clockspeed

 We need to make writing parallel code easier

 All components of the Java SE platform are adapting
– Language, libraries, VM

Herb Sutter
5


http://www.gotw.ca/publications/concurrency-ddj.htm
http://drdobbs.com/high-performance-computing/225402247
http://drdobbs.com/high-performance-computing/219200099

360 Cores
2.8 TB RAM
960 GB Flash
InfiniBand
…

Concurrency in Java
java.util.concurrent
(jsr166)
Phasers, etc
java.lang.Thread
(jsr166)

1.4

5.0

6

Project Lambda
Fork/Join Framework
(jsr166y)

7 8

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
6


2013...

Goals For Better Parallelism In Java
 Easy-to-use parallel libraries
– Libraries can hide a host of complex concerns
 task scheduling, thread management, load balancing, etc

 Reduce conceptual and syntactic gap between serial and parallel

expressions of the same computation
– Currently serial code and parallel code for a given computation are very different
 Fork-join is a good start, but not enough

 Sometimes we need language changes to support better libraries
– Lambda expressions

7


Bringing Lambdas To Java

8


The Problem: External Iteration
List<Student> students = ...

double highestScore = 0.0;
for (Student s : students) {
if (s.gradYear == 2011) {

if (s.score > highestScore) {
highestScore = s.score;
}

}
}

9


•
•
•

Client controls iteration
Inherently serial: iterate from
beginning to end
Not thread-safe because
business logic is stateful
(mutable accumulator
variable)

Internal Iteration With Inner Classes
More Functional, Fluent and Monad Like
 Iteraction, filtering and
SomeList<Student> students = ...
double highestScore =
students.filter(new Predicate<Student>() {
public boolean op(Student s) {
return s.getGradYear() == 2011;
}
}).map(new Mapper<Student,Double>() {
public Double extract(Student s) {
return s.getScore();
}
}).max();
10


accumulation are handled by the
library
 Not inherently serial – traversal

may be done in parallel
 Traversal may be done lazily – so

one pass, rather than three
 Thread safe – client logic is

stateless
 High barrier to use
– Syntactically ugly

Internal Iteration With Lambdas
SomeList<Student> students = ...

students.filter(Student s -> s.getGradYear() == 2011)
.map(Student s -> s.getScore())

.max();

• More readable

• More abstract
• Less error-prone
• No reliance on mutable state

• Easier to make parallel

11


Lambda Expressions
Some Details
 Lambda expressions are anonymous functions
– Like a method, has a typed argument list, a return type, a set of thrown

exceptions, and a body
students.filter(Student s -> s.getGradYear() == 2011)
.map(Student s -> s.getScore())
.max();

12


Lambda Expression Types
•

Single-method interfaces used extensively to represent functions and
callbacks
– Definition: a functional interface is an interface with one method (SAM)
– Functional interfaces are identified structurally

– The type of a lambda expression will be a functional interface
 This is very important
interface
interface
interface
interface
interface
13

Comparator<T>
FileFilter
Runnable
ActionListener
Callable<T>


{
{
{
{
{

boolean compare(T x, T y); }
boolean accept(File x); }
void run(); }
void actionPerformed(…); }
T call(); }

Target Typing
 A lambda expression is a way to create an instance of a functional interface
– Which functional interface is inferred from the context

– Works both in assignment and method invocation contexts
 Can use casts if needed to resolve ambiguity
Comparator<String> c = new Comparator<String>() {
public int compare(String x, String y) {
return x.length() - y.length();
}
};

Comparator<String> c = (String x, String y) -> x.length() - y.length();
14


Local Variable Capture
•

Lambda expressions can refer to effectively final local variables from
the enclosing scope
•

Effectively final means that the variable meets the requirements for final
variables (e.g., assigned once), even if not explicitly declared final

•

This is a form of type inference

void expire(File root, long before) {
...
root.listFiles(File p -> p.lastModified() <= before);
...
}
15


Lexical Scoping
•

The meaning of names are the same inside the lambda as outside
•

A ‘this’ reference – refers to the enclosing object, not the lambda itself

•

Think of ‘this’ as a final predefined local

•

Remember the type of a Lambda is a functional interface

class SessionManager {
long before = ...;
void expire(File root) {
...
// refers to „this.before‟, just like outside the lambda
root.listFiles(File p -> checkExpiry(p.lastModified(), before));
}
boolean checkExpiry(long time, long expiry) { ... }
}

16


Type Inferrence
 Compiler can often infer parameter types in lambda expression
Collections.sort(ls, (String x, String y) -> x.length() - y.length());

Collections.sort(ls, (x, y) -> x.length() - y.length());

 Inferrence based on the target functional interface’s method signature
 Fully statically typed (no dynamic typing sneaking in)
– More typing with less typing

17


Method References
•

Method references let us reuse a method as a lambda expression
FileFilter x = new FileFilter() {
public boolean accept(File f) {
return f.canRead();
}
};

FileFilter x = (File f) -> f.canRead();

FileFilter x = File::canRead;
18


Constructor References
interface Factory<T> {
T make();
}

Factory<List<String>> f = ArrayList<String>::new;
Equivalent to
Factory<List<String>> f = () -> return new ArrayList<String>();

 When f.make() is invoked it will return a new ArrayList<String>
19


Lambda Expressions In Java
Advantages
 Developers primary tool for computing over aggregates is the for loop
– Inherently serial
– We need internal iteration

 Useful for many libraries, serial and parallel

 Adding Lambda expressions to Java is no longer a radical idea

20


Library Evolution

21


Library Evolution
The Real Challenge
• Adding lambda expressions is a big language change
• If Java had them from day one, the APIs would definitely look different
• Adding lambda expressions makes our aging APIs show their age even

more
 Most important APIs (Collections) are based on interfaces
• How to extend an interface without breaking backwards compatability

• Adding lambda expressions to Java, but not upgrading the APIs to use

them, would be silly
• Therefore we also need better mechanisms for library evolution

22


Library Evolution Goal
 Requirement: aggregate operations on collections
– New methods on Collections that allow for bulk operations
– Examples: filter, map, reduce, forEach, sort
– These can run in parallel (return Stream object)
int heaviestBlueBlock =
blocks.filter(b -> b.getColor() == BLUE)
.map(Block::getWeight)
.reduce(0, Integer::max);

 This is problematic
– Can’t add new methods to interfaces without modifying all implementations
– Can’t necessarily find or control all implementations
23


Solution: Virtual Extension Methods
AKA Defender Methods
• Specified in the interface
• From the caller’s perspective, just an ordinary interface method
• List class provides a default implementation
• Default is only used when implementation classes do not provide a body

for the extension method
• Implementation classes can provide a better version, or not

 Drawback: requires VM support
interface List<T> {
void sort(Comparator<? super T> cmp)
default { Collections.sort(this, cmp); };
}
24


Virtual Extension Methods
Stop right there!
• Err, isn’t this implementing multiple inheritance for Java?
• Yes, but Java already has multiple inheritance of types
• This adds multiple inheritance of behavior too
• But not state, which is where most of the trouble is
• Though can still be a source of complexity due to separate compilation and

dynamic linking

25


Functional Interface Definitions
 Single Abstract Method (SAM) type

 A functional interface is an interface that has one abstract method
– Represents a single function contract
– Doesn’t mean it only has one method

 Abstract classes may be considered later
 @FunctionalInterface annotation
– Helps ensure the functional interface contract is honoured

– Compiler error if not a SAM

26


The Stream Class
java.util.stream
 Stream<T>
– A sequence of elements supporting sequential and parallel operations

 A Stream is opened by calling:
– Collection.stream()
– Collection.parallelStream()

List<String> names = Arrays.asList(“Bob”, “Alice”, “Charlie”);
System.out.println(names.
stream().
filter(e -> e.getLength() > 4).
findFirst().
get());
27


java.util.stream Package
 Accessed from Stream interface

 Collector<T, R>
– A (possibly) parallel reduction operation
– Folds input elements of type T into a mutable results container of type R
 e.g. String concatenation, min, max, etc

28


java.util.function Package
 Predicate<T>
– Determine if the input of type T matches some criteria

 Consumer<T>
– Accept a single input argumentof type T, and return no result

 Function<T, R>
– Apply a function to the input type T, generating a result of type R

 Plus several more

29


Lambda Expressions in Use

30


Simple Java Data Structure
public class Person {
public enum Gender { MALE, FEMALE };
String name;
Date birthday;
Gender gender;
String emailAddress;
public String getName() { ... }
public Gender getGender() { ... }
public String getEmailAddress() { ... }
public void printPerson() {
// ...
}
}
31


List<Person> membership;

Searching For Specific Characteristics (1)
Simplistic, Brittle Approach
public static void printPeopleOlderThan(List<Person> members, int age) {
for (Person p : members) {
if (p.getAge() > age)
p.printPerson();
}
}
public static void printPeopleYoungerThan(List<Person> members, int age) {
// ...
}
// And on, and on, and on...

32


Separate Search Criteria
/* Single abstract method type */
interface PeoplePredicate {
public boolean satisfiesCriteria(Person p);
}
public static void printPeople(List<Person> members, PeoplePredicate match) {
if (match.satisfiesCriteria(p))
p.printPerson();
}
}

33


Separate Search Criteria
public class RetiredMen implements PeoplePredicate {
// ...
public boolean satisfiesCriteria(Person p) {
if (p.gender == Person.Gender.MALE && p.getAge() >= 65)
return true;
return false;
}
}

printPeople(membership, new RetiredMen());

34


Separate Search Criteria Using Anonymous Inner Class
printPeople(membership, new PeoplePredicate() {
public boolean satisfiesCriteria(Person p) {
if (p.gender == Person.Gender.MALE && p.getAge() >= 65)
return true;
return false;
}
});

35


Separate Search Criteria Using Lambda Expression

printPeople(membership,
p -> p.getGender() == Person.Gender.MALE && p.getAge() >= 65);

 We now have parameterised behaviour, not just values
– This is really important
– This is why Lambda statements are such a big deal in Java

36


Make Things More Generic (1)
interface PeoplePredicate {
public boolean satisfiesCriteria(Person p);
}

/* From java.util.function class library */
interface Predicate<T> {
public boolean test(T t);
}

37


Make Things More Generic (2)
public static void printPeopleUsingPredicate(
List<Person> members, Predicate<Person> predicate) {
if (predicate.test())
p.printPerson();
}
Interface defines behaviour
}

Call to method executes behaviour

printPeopleUsingPredicate(membership,
p -> p.getGender() == Person.Gender.MALE && p.getAge() >= 65);

Behaviour passed as parameter
38


Using A Consumer (1)
interface Consumer<T> {
public void accept(T t);
}

public void processPeople(List<Person> members,
Predicate<Person> predicate,
Consumer<Person> consumer) {
if (predicate.test(p))
consumer.accept(p);
}
}

39


Using A Consumer (2)
processPeople(membership,
p -> p.getGender() == Person.Gender.MALE && p.getAge() >= 65,
p -> p.printPerson());

processPeople(membership,
Person::printPerson);

40


Using A Return Value (1)
interface Function<T, R> {
public R apply(T t);
}
public static void processPeopleWithFunction(
List<Person> members,
Predicate<Person> predicate,
Function<Person, String> function,
Consumer<String> consumer) {
if (predicate.test(p)) {
String data = function.apply(p);
consumer.accept(data);
}
}
}
41


Using A Return Value (2)
processPeopleWithFunction(
membership,
p -> p.getEmailAddress(),
email -> System.out.println(email));
processPeopleWithFunction(
membership,
Person::getEmailAddress,
System.out::println);

42


Conclusions
 Java needs lambda statements for multiple reasons
– Significant improvements in existing libraries are required
– Replacing all the libraries is a non-starter
– Compatibly evolving interface-based APIs has historically been a problem

 Require a mechanism for interface evolution
– Solution: virtual extension methods
– Which is both a language and a VM feature
– And which is pretty useful for other things too

 Java SE 8 evolves the language, libraries, and VM together

43


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