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Can the constant pool size limit be increased in a future version of Java?

Owen ThomasAug 1 2026

Hello.

I have been using Java for almost18 years to develop something which perhaps is far from a conventional application for Java. Java has been a reliable language to put my thoughts into code thus far.

However, I have recently come up against the constant pool limit for variable names: my programs cannot be compiled because messages like "<name> is too long for the constant pool" are being generated. Error messages of this type are frustrating me because this limit seems to have been set at an arbitrarily small number a very long time ago. My programs rely heavily on generics to inform a would-be developer about how to extend them, and I'm finding this constant pool limit of 65,536 bytes to be a sincere frustration.

Is there any chance that Oracle would consider increasing this limit? Doing that would be considerate gesture that would help developers like me exploring unconventional ideas get on with their work.

Thanks,

Owen.

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Added on Aug 1 2026
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