Compile with java 1.8 for Tomcat7?

Question

It is possible to compile a project with installed 1.8 sdk with JDK Compiance set to 1.7 , and install the war file on a Tomcat7 machine where also java 1.8 is installed?

Or would I always have to compile those projects with java 1.7 for tomcat7?

Answer 1

Tomcat 7 claims to support Java 6 "and later", which would include Java 8 in theory.

See this page for release compatibility information.

Note: Java 7 compliance implies your code is checked against Java 7 syntax (eg no lambdas). This means it can be run with JVMs from version 7 and above.