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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.
Several vendors offer a choice of Java implementations
The Answer by Speakjava is correct and informative.
In addition, here is a flowchart I made to guide you in choosing a vendor for a Java implementation.
Or another way to view this: Your particular motivations or situation.
Summary
If you need to have java in your production servers for free, your have two options
#1 OpenJdk
The OpenJDK is the open source implementation of the Java SE Specification and it is maintained by Oracle.
More details: https://whichjdk.com
Source code can be found here: https://github.com/openjdk
Binary can be found here: https://jdk.java.net/archive
Just select the latest or an specific version and download it. Check this example.
#2 JDK Customized by Third Parties
- Amazon Corretto
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/corretto/latest/corretto-11-ug/downloads-list.html
- Zulu
- https://www.azul.com/downloads/zulu-community/?architecture=x86-64-bit&package=jdk
Licences OTN vs BCL
Oracle JDK 8 (aka 1.8) no longer uses BCL (Binary Code License). From April 16, 2019, Oracle JDK 8 uses the OTN (Oracle Technology Network) license, which requires you to create an Oracle account to download JDK 8 and payment!!
BCL = Oracle Binary Code License
- You can use it, but you can't modify it
- You agree not to sue Oracle if anything goes wrong
- You can redistribute/publish it (so that you can sell products with Java embedded), but if you do, you agree to indemnify Oracle; so if someone sues you, you can't drag Oracle into it.
It's really just there to protect Oracle's intellectual property and to shield them from being sued when bugs are found.
source: https://www.quora.com/In-short-what-does-the-Oracle-Binary-Code-License-Agreement-for-Java-SE-actually-say-or-prohibit/answer/Jon-Harley
As a summary: FREE with risks and without any fault of Oracle
OTN = Oracle Technology Network License
As a summary: Opposite to BCL and FREE just for development in your laptop. For enterprises, you must PAY
OpenJDK and Oracle JDK
Both OpenJDK and Oracle JDK are created and maintained currently by Oracle only.
OpenJDK and Oracle JDK are implementations of the same Java specification passed the TCK (Java Technology Certification Kit).
Most of the vendors of JDK are written on top of OpenJDK by doing a few tweaks to [mostly to replace licensed proprietary parts / replace with more high-performance items that only work on specific OS] components without breaking the TCK compatibility.
Source: Differences between Oracle JDK and OpenJDK
Free official options
Here I will list and keep updated the official links, ready to download the most used java versions
Oracle Java 1.4, 5, 6 and 7 (Deprecated)
Oracle does not show any message related to license changes for Java 1.4, 5, 6 and 7 downloads. So we can use them for development and production deployment, accepting issues and security problems because these versions are so ancient!!
- Oracle downloads:
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/java-archive-javase-v14-downloads.html
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/java-archive-javase5-downloads.html
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase-java-archive-javase6-downloads.html
- https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/java-archive-downloads-javase7-521261.html
Legacy versions prior to 7, does not have and will not have any update. Maybe a sales contact could be a solution if your have a Legacy Systems running over this java old versions.
Oracle Java 8 update 202
Just Java SE 8 JDK 8u202 and earlier versions are free for development and production deployment. You can download it from:
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/javase8-archive-downloads.html
Openjdk 8 (Deprecated)
OpenJDK is a ORACLE initiative. More details here: https://adoptopenjdk.net/
compressed mode
You can download the latest v8 release from here. Latest version:
- https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk8-upstream-binaries/releases/download/jdk8u292-b10/OpenJDK8U-jdk_x64_windows_8u292b10.zip
- https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk8-upstream-binaries/releases/download/jdk8u292-b10/OpenJDK8U-jdk_x64_linux_8u292b10.tar.gz
- I can't find the version for osx :(
Follow this to download using curl
install mode
apt-get install openjdk-8-jre (just run apps)
apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk (develop and run)
From https://openjdk.java.net/install/
Openjdk 11
- https://jdk.java.net/java-se-ri/11
- https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk11-binaries/releases
apt-get update
apt-get install openjdk-11-jdk
Openjdk 17
- https://jdk.java.net/java-se-ri/17
Openjdk 19
- https://jdk.java.net/java-se-ri/19
Openjdk 21
- https://jdk.java.net/21/
Free From Trusted Third Parties
Zulu Community (Java 6,7,8,11,13,14,15)
- https://www.azul.com/downloads/zulu-community/?architecture=x86-64-bit&package=jdk
Amazon Corretto (Java 11)
- https://docs.aws.amazon.com/corretto/latest/corretto-11-ug/downloads-list.html
Eclipse OpenJ9
- https://www.eclipse.org/openj9/
More third parties
The following implementations, listed in alphabetical order, are open source and free to use:
- AdoptOpenJDK
- Azul Zulu
- Bck2Brwsr
- CACAO
- Codename One
- DoppioJVM
- GraalVM CE
- HaikuVM
- HotSpot
- Jamiga
- JamVM
- Jelatine JVM
- Jikes RVM (Jikes Research Virtual Machine)
- JVM.go
- leJOS
- Maxine
- Multi-OS Engine
- RopeVM
- uJVM
NON-FREE options
You should pay for these versions but in return you will have a lot of features suported by Oracle or another third parties
Oracle Java
https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/
- Java 19
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/#java19
- Java 17
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/#java17
- Java 11
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/#java11
Oracle Java 8 update 221
Since the java 8 update at April 16, 2019 8u221, all versions and updates for (java 8,9,10,11,14) has no cost just for personal use and development purposes. Any other use, needs a Commercial License.
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/javase-jdk8-downloads.html latest update 251
- https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/javase8u211-later-archive-downloads.html previous updates (241,231,221,212,211)
Source: https://www.baeldung.com/oracle-jdk-vs-openjdk
Proprietary Implementations
There are also other private or commercial implementations:
- Azul Zing JVM
- CEE-J
- Excelsior JET (Discontinued)
- GraalVM EE
- Imsys AB
- JamaicaVM (aicas)
- JBlend (Aplix)
- MicroJvm (IS2T – Industrial Smart Software Technology)
- OJVM
- PTC Perc
- SAP JVM
- Waratek CloudVM for Java
Source: https://www.baeldung.com/oracle-jdk-vs-openjdk
Notes
- Oracle Java 9 and 10 has reached end of support.
- https://stackoverflow.com/a/50333498/3957754
More References
Differences between Oracle JDK and OpenJDK
https://whichjdk.com/
https://www.openlogic.com/blog/java-experts-openjdk-vs-oracle-jdk
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/overview/faqs-jsp-136696.html
https://www.oracle.com/downloads/licenses/javase-license1.html
https://openjdk.java.net/projects/jdk8/
https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/8u-relnotes.html
https://gist.github.com/jrichardsz/83db09163ca9a0db4c9cd4f91cbf0598/
https://jdk.java.net/archive