What is MethodHandles in Java?

MethodHandles are a flexible mechanism for dynamically accessing Java methods and fields. They were introduced in Java 7 as part of the java.lang.invoke package. This feature allows you to perform method invocation without the need for reflection, providing better performance and type safety.

MethodHandles can be thought of as first-class callable entities that can represent method references, constructors, and even field access, making them powerful tools for advanced programming techniques such as dynamic proxies and lambda expressions.