The Pragmatic Craftsman :: Simplicity from complexity : by Stanley Kubasek ::

Wow! Version 1.5 of J2SE contains a lot of good improvements! I personally like Java, and even though it has its limitations & drawbacks, I think it’s the best language out there! And you know what, it’s going to be for a pretty long time. After a period of uncertainty about its future (mainly because of the whole .NET marketing), there seems to be a new life thrown into Java (Eclipse, Web Services in J2EE 1.4, and more). Way to go!

J2SE 1.5 contains the following (among others), very cool features, which will make Java better:- generic types- enhanced for loop- enumerated types (oh, yeah, finally)- static import- formatted input/output (as in c++)- metadata- improved xml support- and more!

The theme for 1.5 seems to be to make the developer’s life a little easier. I like what I’ve seen so far. Good job Java community!

Read a very good article that explains what’s new in 1.5 in more detail: J2SE 1.5 in a Nutshell