Organizations that wanted to continue using a free version of the JDK were encouraged to adopt OpenJDK, the open source version of the JDK that Sun Microsystems launched in 2006. Oracle’s stick was accompanied by a carrot. The change in licensing term included this Oracle threat: “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.” Anybody who questioned Oracle’s resolve probably hasn’t been on the pointy end of a software audit by the Redwood City, California company. At the same time, the tech giant restricted access to Java Standard Edition (SE) version 8, which it also distributed under an Oracle Technology Network (OTN) license.

Oracle angered the Java-using community back in 2018 when it decided to stop distributing the Oracle JDK version 11 for free and charge companies a fee for commercial use (starting at $30 per desktop per year, and $300 per processor for server deployments). However, the move hasn’t changed IBM’s recommendations regarding which Java package IBM i shops use to run Access Client Solutions (ACS) software Oracle has reversed course on a controversial decision to charge companies a licensing fee to use its Oracle Java Development Kit (JDK) and has once again make the Java technology free, starting with the recently released Oracle JDK version 17. Oracle JDK Is Free Again, But OpenJDK Still Recommended

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