How to use the AST viewer with jdk > 1.4 ?

[oowekyala]

When I use the bgastviewer packaged with pmd, I cannot use features introduced later than jdk 1.4 (annotations, lambdas, type inference for generics, etc.). I get the following error message on compilation : Can't use annotations when running in JDK 1.4 mode!

How to set it to a higher version ?

[jsotuyod]

From the Language menu you should pick a different Java version. It's currently limited to JDK 1.7, since it's long been unmaintained.

At some point we should merge both GUI tools for PMD (designer and bgastviewer), as stated on the roadmap. The designer is generally more complete, but the bgastviewer has a nicer codebase, and the AST is easier to navigate (although lots of properties are not currently visible).

I'd recommend you stick with the designer unless you have a very compelling reason.