Programming Java 7 in Eclipse

Question

I installed JDK 7 and Eclipse 3.6M6. Then, I added JRE 7 as a new JRE execution environment in Eclipse, and set the compiler compliance level to Java 7. I can compile the fo

Answer 1

As Alex pointed out, Eclipse uses its own compiler which currently doesn't support Java 7 and, as noted in the Project Plan For Eclipse Project, version Helios, support for Java 7 is deferred and decoupled from the 3.6 release:

• ( deferred) Add support for Java SE 7 features. The next feature release of Java SE is version 7, which will probably be available in the second half of 2010. While the contents of this release are still under discussion, that release is expected to contain extensions to the Java language, including annotations on types (JSR-308), modularity support (JSR-294), and other minor language changes (Coin project). Eclipse Java tooling will include initial support for compiling, editing, and launching applications for Java 7 for those parts which have publicly available specifications (only JSR-308 at this point). [JDT Core, JDT UI] (288548)

  NOTE: In order to align our schedule with the delayed official Java 7 appearance and due to lack of publicly available specifications (including lack of a Java 7 JSR), we have decided to move the development work to a separate branch and decouple it from the 3.6 release. In that branch we will continue to develop the Java 7 features as they become publicly accessible. We will deliver separate updates for the official builds in order to provide early access to Java 7 features.