As usual, everytime I update my Ubuntu, I try to figure out myself the changes in it. Below are some notable changes in the Ubuntu 16.04 release.

DCEVM

Most noteworthy update, at least for me, is the inclusion of DCEVM into the repository. DCEVM is a modification of the Java HotSpot VM which allows unlimited redefinition of loaded classes at runtime. DCEVM allows developers to replace parts of running code on the fly. For example, when developing a Spring web project, one can save the source code and changes are automatically deployed on the server. No need to recompile, repackage, and redeploy the whole project. Therefore it is a big time-saver.

DCEVM is available in the universe repository as openjdk-8-jre-dcevm.

Python 3.5

As an avid Python user, I’ve been always excited by its quick updates on Ubuntu. Also, I’ll be disappointed if I have to deal with certain distros and find out that the default Python version is old.

Ubuntu 16.04 includes Python 3.5 as the default Python 3 version. There are a few useful features of Python 3.5, such as type hints. With this feature, we may expect IDEs to offer better code suggestions in the near future.

LibreOffice Icon Theme

LibreOffice is now sporting a new icon theme. In my own words, the new theme is clean and sharp. This is of course a good improvement since I personally think the previous icon theme was ugly. Take a look at the new theme:

GDebi has been replaced

Well, this one IMO is not an improvement; it’s a setback. Ubuntu ditched GDebi from Xenial Xerus. Unfortunately, its substitute is not working. Therefore, if you used to install deb files by double-clicking from nautilus, you will have to install gdebi manually in Ubuntu 16.04.