Java was in real danger in the seven years that it took to go from 5 to 7. Very little of substance was added and it didn't appear like there was a path forwar

Java was in real danger in the seven years that it took to go from 5 to 7. Very little of substance was added and it didn't appear like there was a path forward to get any real new features added to the language. Yes, Java is not the language to use if you want the hot new PL ideas in your language. But languages need to continue to move forward because it's not like PL research is dead either. I think Java does a really good job now at being conservative with what they add while still keeping things modern enough that people aren't abandoning the language. Once features have proved themselves in other, less conservative languages, the Java team can add them, with the benefit of seeing what sorts of problems might arise.