




And they do provide a $free alternative completely valid for commercial use. I do suggest bearing in mind that Oracle invests huge amounts in developing Java, so it is reasonable to have a commercial plan available for those that want it. Is this trap malicious behaviour on the part of Oracle? Readers will have their own opinions. (Update, : Searches for Java 11 and JDK 11 now seem to be resolving to OpenJDK builds, not commercial ones!) Unless you read the text/warnings/legalese very carefully you might not even realise Oracle JDK is now commercial, and that you are therefore liable to pay Oracle for using this particular JDK in production. In other words, Oracle can rely on inertia from Java developers to cause them to download the wrong (commercial) release of Java. Get a nasty phone call from Oracle's license enforcement teams demanding lots of money.Use it in production (because you didn't realise the license changed).Download Oracle JDK (because that is what you've always done, and it is what the web-search tells you).You may not: use the Programs for any data processing or any commercial, production, or internal business purposes other than developing, testing, prototyping, and demonstrating your Application Oracle JDK, the one all web searches take you to, is now commercial not $free. Type "JDK" into your favourite search engine, and the top link will be to an Oracle Java SE download page (I'm deliberately not providing a link).īut that search and that link is now a trap. It is a major release because it has long-term support (LTS).īut Oracle have also set it up to be a trap (either deliberately or accidentally).įor 23 years, developers have downloaded the JDK from Oracle and used it for $free. TL:DR Java is still available at zero-cost, you just need to stop using Oracle JDK and start using an OpenJDK build, such as this one or this one.
