Compatibility & Requirements

artifact-json is designed for the modern JVM while maintaining broad compatibility with enterprise environments.

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Supported Java Versions

Java Version	Support Status	Minimum Requirement	Notes
Java 21+	✅ Full Support	Recommended	Supports all modern switch patterns and record features.
Java 17	✅ Full Support	Minimum	Finalized sealed types and pattern matching for instanceof.
Java 11	❌ Not Supported	-	Requires modern language features (Sealed types, Records).
Java 8	❌ Not Supported	-	Legacy JVM; lacks structural features needed for performance.

IMPORTANT

Starting from version 2.0.2, the minimum supported Java version is Java 17. If you are on an older JVM, we recommend upgrading or using the 1.x branch.

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Platform Support

artifact-json is a pure Java library with zero external dependencies. It runs anywhere a standard JVM is available:

• Cloud Native: Optimized for AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and Azure Functions (fast startup, small binary).
• Embedded: Resource-constrained environments (low memory footprint, under 500KB JAR).
• Big Data: High-throughput processing with Java Stream API and parallel processing.

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Why Java 17+?

By targeting Java 17 as the baseline, artifact-json leverages standard JVM optimizations that older libraries often bypass for backward compatibility:

1. Sealed Type Hierarchy: The JVM can devirtualize method calls on JsonNode, leading to near-native execution speed.
2. Pattern Matching: Reduces boilerplate and improves null-safety during tree traversal.
3. Records: JsonValue is implemented as a Java record, ensuring structural immutability and efficient memory layouts.
4. MethodHandles: High-performance serialization via java.lang.invoke instead of standard reflection.

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Troubleshooting

If you encounter a java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError or java.lang.NoSuchFieldError at startup, please verify your runtime Java version:

java -version

Ensure it reports version 17.x or higher.