Why the Java Community Abandoned the Oracle JDK

The Oracle JDK used to be the gold standard used by Java developers worldwide. That all changed when Oracle made a surprise announcement in 2017, forcing users to pay to use their JDK in production. This is the story of community efforts to keep the JDK free and a slow erosion of trust in Oracle after repeated bad decisions.

Why do we have so many JDK versions and vendors to choose from now? If you're confused by terms like Oracle JDK, OpenJDK, Temurin, Zulu, and Corretto, I promise they'll make a lot more sense after watching this video.

▶️ VIDEO CHAPTERS
The Java community is alienated 0:00
A surprise announcement about the Oracle JDK 1:08
A possible solution from OpenJDK 1:57
The Oracle OpenJDK update issue 2:48
An explosion of OpenJDK vendors 4:28
Yet another announcement from Oracle 5:47
An angry reaction from the Java community 6:31
Some interesting conclusions 7:14

[henninghoefer]

I can completely understand Jetbrains' decision! Interacting with Oracle is playing with fire... The question is not _if_ - but only _when_ you're going to get burned...

[casualengineerzombie]

The last time I used Oracle JDK was the last time. 😀

[willcoder]

The less Oracle is involved in our future, the better. Oracle is run by mercenaries.

[JazzInATinCan]

Unity saw this massive backlash and decided to try and see how it feels.

[johangamb]

You could also have mentioned the Ask Jeeves browser toolbar installation which Oracle foisted on java installations many years ago, which kind of set the tone for their guardianship of java. Utterly disgusting behaviour, they really are untrustworthy.

[kitersrefuge]

Superb thank you! Answer to your question: no. Why go back? I would only go back if there was a benefit. If the playing field has now been evened there is no motivation to do so; besides, Oracle's M.O. has been the same for the entirety of my career; what's the saying about a Leopard and its spots?

[aosth]

I never heard the news about them backtracking. But no, I would never trust Oracle. Not with their history.

[Kraziken]

No you can't trust Oracle. They flipped again and they cold call companies trying to get paid licensing for java. Not just for current use but charges for retro charges based on date of installation

[TheCodeConnoisseur]

Are there any differences in terms of performance between different jdk vendors? Is that why eclipse termium is most popular?

[kirtan]

Do the third party vendors of JDK also have their own version of JRE?

[Kervizz_]

If I make and I sell an application made with Oracle JDK do I have to pay Oracle?

[shanagondaarun]

I always downloaded JDK through Intellij. Why bother going to website and downloading anyway.

[guai]

maybe it happened because you cannot just download their jdk

[knofi]

Java developers should move to Go instead, if possible.