upcoming JAVA licensing changes for 2019
Regarding the upcoming Oracle licensing fee changes (January 2019), it seems to me that STAR need not be affected much, if at all, for the near future. It will take some testing however to have some confidence and understand what we will need to do.
From https://www.java.com/en/download/release_notice.jsp, as of 8/29/2018:
OpenJDK looks to be usable at no cost going forward, though we may find ourselves having to make major version updates more often in order to keep getting security updates - so perhaps some additional effort towards testing and updating to keep up with Java changes.
As for Oracle's continued "support" of OpenJDK, from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/eol-135779.html :
Here's what I've thought of for our use of Java in STAR:
- Leve for ESL and SUMS (and perhaps other production framework?) development - definitely requiring a JDK,
- the online web server for Tomcat with the ESL,
- a few machines running the ESL client, such as the shift-leader terminal (Windows, at the moment), where the JDK isn't necessary, just a JRE,
- and SUMS users, mostly on the interactive RCAS machines, but perhaps other places as well (also generally only needing a JRE).
For some reason, Leve is using an Oracle JDK (not OpenJDK) on his desktop with Netbeans - it is a local installation for him, not system RPMs. I can guess a couple of reasons why. My first guess is simply that his desktop computer doesn't have openjdk-1.8 installed. That might simply be a historical circumstance - perhaps he wanted to develop with Java 1.8 and openjdk-1.8 wasn't yet available or he didn't realize it was available as a stock package and he may have just downloaded the JDK from Oracle and made his personal installation. But openjdk-1.8 is available for RHEL6 and its derivatives, so perhaps that alone will suffice. My second guess why Leve is not using openJDK is that perhaps there is some feature in the Oracle JDK that is not available in OpenJDK - and then really stretching my guess, I'll guess it could be something about signing the JARs, which I vaguely recall was troublesome for him at some point. When he's back from vacation we can discuss this.
The online web server is using openJDK-1.8 for Tomcat, but I think it is really only using the JRE that is bundled with the JDK. In any case, it seems likely that we'll be able to continue using OpenJDK packages.
The shift-leader terminal is using the Oracle Java JRE, as commonly downloaded from java.com or installed by ITD/LanDesk. This will not qualify as "individual, personal use", so in order to keep it updated starting in January 2019, it seems we either have to pay for a license, or switch to an alternative. From what I've been able to find so far, there is no openJDK-1.8 for Windows, but there is an openJDK 10 (and 11 and 12) for Windows, in which there must be a JRE, so that should be tested.
SUMS users on RCAS machines are already by default using the JRE from openjdk-1.8, and as above, keeping up with testing new major version changes might require a bit more time, it is likely to be only a small amount of additional effort.
From https://www.java.com/en/download/release_notice.jsp, as of 8/29/2018:
Public updates for Oracle Java SE 8 released after January 2019 will not be available for business, commercial or production use without a commercial license.
OpenJDK looks to be usable at no cost going forward, though we may find ourselves having to make major version updates more often in order to keep getting security updates - so perhaps some additional effort towards testing and updating to keep up with Java changes.
As for Oracle's continued "support" of OpenJDK, from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/eol-135779.html :
"...with the OracleJDK and builds of Oracle OpenJDK being interchangeable for releases of Java SE 11 and later, the Oracle JDK will primarily be for commercial and support customers and OpenJDK builds from Oracle are for those who do not want commercial support or enterprise management tools."
Here's what I've thought of for our use of Java in STAR:
- Leve for ESL and SUMS (and perhaps other production framework?) development - definitely requiring a JDK,
- the online web server for Tomcat with the ESL,
- a few machines running the ESL client, such as the shift-leader terminal (Windows, at the moment), where the JDK isn't necessary, just a JRE,
- and SUMS users, mostly on the interactive RCAS machines, but perhaps other places as well (also generally only needing a JRE).
For some reason, Leve is using an Oracle JDK (not OpenJDK) on his desktop with Netbeans - it is a local installation for him, not system RPMs. I can guess a couple of reasons why. My first guess is simply that his desktop computer doesn't have openjdk-1.8 installed. That might simply be a historical circumstance - perhaps he wanted to develop with Java 1.8 and openjdk-1.8 wasn't yet available or he didn't realize it was available as a stock package and he may have just downloaded the JDK from Oracle and made his personal installation. But openjdk-1.8 is available for RHEL6 and its derivatives, so perhaps that alone will suffice. My second guess why Leve is not using openJDK is that perhaps there is some feature in the Oracle JDK that is not available in OpenJDK - and then really stretching my guess, I'll guess it could be something about signing the JARs, which I vaguely recall was troublesome for him at some point. When he's back from vacation we can discuss this.
The online web server is using openJDK-1.8 for Tomcat, but I think it is really only using the JRE that is bundled with the JDK. In any case, it seems likely that we'll be able to continue using OpenJDK packages.
The shift-leader terminal is using the Oracle Java JRE, as commonly downloaded from java.com or installed by ITD/LanDesk. This will not qualify as "individual, personal use", so in order to keep it updated starting in January 2019, it seems we either have to pay for a license, or switch to an alternative. From what I've been able to find so far, there is no openJDK-1.8 for Windows, but there is an openJDK 10 (and 11 and 12) for Windows, in which there must be a JRE, so that should be tested.
SUMS users on RCAS machines are already by default using the JRE from openjdk-1.8, and as above, keeping up with testing new major version changes might require a bit more time, it is likely to be only a small amount of additional effort.
Groups:
- wbetts's blog
- Login or register to post comments