Looking for Java version for development? It’s time to look beyond Oracle JDK if you are seeking for development in Java version.

With the support of Oracle Java 8 getting over and Java 11 being the latest LTS version of Java, it’s time to look for future direction to Java version and runtime.

From Java 11, Oracle JDK has become commercial build, which can be used without cost in development, however, using it in production requires paying Oracle

However there is an alternate complete free version of Java with OpenJDK, this comes from many vendors providing builds

  • Oracle OpenJDK: This is free with certain limitations i.e these build versions are available and supported only for 6 months from release and needs to be upgraded every 6 months with a new version
  • AdoptOpenJDK: AdoptOpenJDK is a community group that will continue to provide builds for a longer period (4 yrs) for the LTS version like Java 11. Also, it’s supported by RedHat and IBM which intend to provide security patches for long term.
  • Amazon Corretto: Its completely free and maintained by AWS with long term support (LTS) for versions like Java 11 and certified with Java Technical Compatibility Kit. AWS uses the same for running its thousands of services.

There are some more vendors which provide OpenJDK builds, however, I’ve listed only the prominent ones above for a discussion

All above OpenJDK types are licensed with GPLv2 with CPE (Safe for free use and distribution in companies)

With the reliability, acceptance, and support of AWS in industry, a recommendation is to

  • Adopt Amazon Corretto 11 (build of OpenJDK 11) for new development. This will be supported with performance improvements and security updates till August 2024
  • Adopt Amazon Corretto 8 (build of OpenJDK 8) for maintenance projects which are dependent on Java 8. This will be supported with performance improvements and security updates till June 2023
Author:

Manish Dodani | Sr. Technical Architect – BlueConch Technologies

Manish Dodani is a Sr. Technical Architect with a focus on solving customer problems
efficiently and cost-effective way by using cutting edge open source technologies.


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Published on July 2, 2020