Can javac 11 compile for Java 6 / 7?

[joe darcy]

On 3/25/2018 2:52 AM, Naman <> NullPointer wrote:
> Just to support that this is stated in the JEP-182 [1], which might need an
> edit if the policy is not followed or updated with JDK 10.
>
> JDK 9 will implement a "one plus three back" support policy meaning that 1.9
>> /9, 1.8/8, 1.7/7, and 1.6/6 will be recognized in that release. That
>> policy will continue in JDK 10.

More specifically, the comment in the underlying bug states:

"Note that with the six month release cadence 
(http://mail.openjdk.java.net/pipermail/discuss/2017-September/004281.html) 
being used starting with JDK 10, the chronological range covered by "one 
plus three back" would be much shortened. In due course, this policy 
will be updated accordingly, possibly taking into account LTS (long term 
support) releases and possibly offering a sparse set of values. For 
example, one possible policy would be to support the last two LTS 
release and each release after the most recent LTS, but not the releases 
between those two LTS releases. "

https://bugs.openjdk.java.net/browse/JDK-8046172?focusedCommentId=14145783&page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel#comment-14145783

In other words, it is possible JDK 11 will ship with a different set of 
support source, target, and --release values than it has now.

HTH,

-Joe