Yes. Having a strong spec helps also in general.

I think that, with all things on the table, backwards compatibility, a spec and, where things are broken things are signaled should be the standard for enterprise grade non-toy apps.

Of course, breaking something should be kept to the minimum.

That is why I keep using C++ and, if I have to do backend in the future for webs, I will probably choose Java over C#: stable, multi-vendor, will work in 10 years, stable.

Agreed. I'm just happy that Java is willing to make a break when necessary. They do an excellent job of avoiding it at all costs but they won't nuke a very needed feature (like value types) if they can't deliver it without making some small breaks.

You can be pretty sure that a jar compiled for Java 1.0 will work on a Java 25 VM, and that's pretty great.