since Oracle JDK is need to be paid for production environment , i will to know if OpenJDK/AdoptOpenJDK give me the same stablity too. I read that Oracle is developing OpenJDk, they for i would suggest that OpenJDK 11 is the same stable like Oracle JDK 11 too. But i have no experience in that area. Another question is: what is the main difference between OpenJDK and AdoptOpenJDk for the stable serie 11? What would you prefere to use for production environment? there for, i would be happy if someone can advice me.
Advertisement
Answer
Update 2021-09
- For versions 8 through 16, Oracle required a fee if their own Oracle JDK product was used in production, but not for dev, test, and training usages.
- For Java 17, the Oracle JDK product is available under a new No-Fee Terms and Conditions license, discussed on the Oracle company blog.
On my first reading, it appears this new license makes production use free-of-cost (along with dev, test, and training usages), except for products sold for a fee while bundling the Oracle JDK product. But I am not an attorney, so read the terms yourself and consult legal advice as needed.
Keep in mind that many other vendors continue to provide implementations of the Java specs, as shown in the flowchart below. Some of these vendors sell support plans, either optionally or as a requirement for use of their product. Never assume, always read the detailed requirements for any distribution you obtain.
Another 2021 update: Add Microsoft to the list of vendors seen below.
tl;dr
Oracle and Adoptium (formerly AdoptOpenJDK) are but two of several vendors offering builds and installers.
All of the implementations of Java available today are based entirely or substantially on the source code provided by the OpenJDK project. All of them should show the same compatibility, stability, and functionality promised by the Java platform specifications.
You have a choice of several vendors offering one or more implementations of the Java platform. Some of those require payment of a fee in some situations, and some are free-of-charge. All are high-quality and frequently updated, per their support and end-of-life policies.
There is no one best vendor or product; choose according to your needs.
Details
OpenJDK is a project hosting an open-source implementation of the Java platform specifications. This project is run by Oracle, IBM, Apple, Red Hat, Azul Systems, SAP, and others. This project offers only source-code, not complete builds nor convenient installers.
Many vendors provide builds based on OpenJDK. Most are direct builds with little or no added value, though vendors have the right to include fixes or features as long as they abide by licensing terms.
Oracle is one such vendor. Oracle offers three products:
- Oracle JDK for their paying customers (and free-of-cost for others doing developing & testing, but not deployment)
- jdk.java.net, builds of OpenJDK, based directly and entirely on OpenJDK source code, no added value. Provided free-of-cost and unsupported.
- GraalVM, a very special Java implementation, with editions either free-of-cost or fee-based.
Oracle has declared their intention to keep Oracle JDK at feature-parity with OpenJDK. They even went so far as to donate some of their commercial products such as Mission Control and Flight Recorder to the OpenJDK project. So you should expect the same stability, speed, and features — except that Oracle reserves the right to more quickly ship patched versions of their supported product to their paying customers when warranted. Submitting to OpenJDK and getting a release there may take more time.
Oracle is not the only vendor producing builds of Java with and without paid support options. Some individual companies provide builds with and/or without paid support. And key members of the Java community have combined their efforts, founding the Adoptium project, formerly known as AdoptOpenJDK.net, and now housed at the Eclipse Foundation. This project hosts infrastructure for building and testing OpenJDK builds for a variety of hardware and OS platforms, some of which offer a choice between the HotSpot and OpenJ9 JVMs. See Difference between OpenJDK and AdoptOpenJDK.
Here is a flowchart I made that may assist you in choosing a vendor for a Java implementation.
There are no wrong choices here. As far as I know, all of these vendors do a solid job of building, publishing, and updating their releases. But here are a few considerations that might lead you to a particular vendor.
