Project Detroit: Java interop with JavaScript and Python

"The novel approach that we are taking with Detroit is that we are embedding the V8 and CPython runtime directly inside the JVM process. In the past we had Project Nashorn, where we tried to do a full implementation of JavaScript on top of the JVM... the challenge is that you are always swimming against the current, because the entire ecosystem on JavaScript basically is building everything on V8 or Node.js, which is running on V8."

"Java developers have long been interested in calling JavaScript from Java and, with the advance of AI, in calling Python code. Although solutions for this exist, the introduction of the FFM (Foreign Function and Memory) API in Java 22, as a more integrated and easier-to-use means of interop than the old JNI (Java Native Interface), has allowed very thin layers that will enable you to go and call JavaScript, or from JavaScript call back to Java."

Oracle has released Java 26 as a short-term release supported for six months until Java 27. The next long-term support release, Java 29, is scheduled for September 2027. Project Detroit, a new initiative, aims to improve interoperability between Java and other languages, particularly JavaScript and Python. The project leverages the Foreign Function and Memory API introduced in Java 22 to create thin integration layers. Project Detroit's novel approach embeds V8 and CPython runtimes directly within the JVM process, avoiding the challenges of implementing these languages from scratch. This strategy addresses the complexity of supporting JavaScript and Python's numerous corner cases and ecosystem dependencies.

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