The long awaited Java SE 9.0 is releasing on September 21, 2017, and with it come some major changes, notably Java Platform Modules.

Java 9 and Vert.x microservices are compatible for building applications, as showcased by this example application that implements a minimal, but working CI system.

An Oracle official expects the module system planned for Java 9 to bring improved scalability and performance to the popular enterprise platform.

At JavaOne 2017, a big source of pride was the fact that Project Jigsaw was ratified and Java modules are now part of Java SE 9.

The Java Platform Module System promised to standardize how Java apps modularized. But years later, the problems with Java modules remain.

But the new Java Platform Module System features need development tools to really take advantage of them. Here is where several key Java development tools stand in their modularity support.

The latest version of the Gradle open-source build automation tool, just announced, comes with a number of upgrades, bug fixes, and highly anticipated support for building and testing Java modules.

The latest version of the Gradle open-source build automation tool, just announced, comes with a number of upgrades, bug fixes, and highly anticipated support for building and testing Java modules.