
Oracle Will Charge for Java Starting in 2019 - grawprog
https://www.aspera.com/en/blog/oracle-will-charge-for-java-starting-in-2019/
======
cwyers
Why do we keep getting this FUD on HN? Oracle is charging for updates to an
unsupported version of Java that will be three versions behind by the time
they start charging. That is not the same as "Oracle will charge for Java."
Oracle is still releasing all currently supported Java versions under the same
terms they always have.

~~~
teilo
It's not FUD. The terms have indeed changed. Oracle Java 8 and previous used
the Java BCL. Oracle Java 11 uses the Oracle Technology Network License
Agreement. It is completely different.

Java 11 is no longer free for commercial use of any kind. It is only free for
personal or development use.

See the new terms:
[https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/terms/license...](https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/terms/license/javase-
license.html)

Particularly this part: "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; … All
rights not expressly granted in this Agreement are reserved by Oracle. If You
want to use the Programs for any purpose other than as expressly permitted
under this Agreement, You must obtain from Oracle or an Oracle reseller a
valid Programs license under a separate agreement permitting such use."

The only "valid Programs license" currently available is an Oracle Java SE
subscription:
[https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javaseproducts/overv...](https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javaseproducts/overview/javasesubscriptionfaq-4891443.html)

As for the actual cost — It's $25 * cpu cores * Oracle Processor Core Factor
for your architecture per month. For an 8 core Xeon VM, this comes out to
$1,200 a year. See here: [http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/pricing/price-
lists/java-...](http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/pricing/price-lists/java-
se-subscription-pricelist-5028356.pdf) and here:
[http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/contracts/processor-
core-...](http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/contracts/processor-core-factor-
table-070634.pdf)

The solution is to move to an OpenJDK distribution.

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mark_l_watson
While I am no Oracle fan, these stories seem to me to be click-bait. From what
I understand, as long as you use the very latest version of Java then using
Oracle Java is free.

I think Oracle wants to charge companies who require older versions of Java to
be supported.

And then, OpenJDK is also free.

This seems like a lot of histerics about very little. Please correct me if I
am wrong about the latest version of Oracle Java being free. You just need to
keep upgrading.

~~~
teilo
> From what I understand, as long as you use the very latest version of Java
> then using Oracle Java is free.

No longer true for commercial use. This article is about Java 8. But Oracle
Java 11 is no longer free for any commercial use. It is free for personal or
development purposes.

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Boulth
I'm surprised OpenJDK is not mentioned. OpenJDK is the reference
implementation, works very well and probably will be used in majority of use
cases. (there are only handful of cases where one would need Oracle JDK)

~~~
asn0
[https://adoptopenjdk.net/](https://adoptopenjdk.net/)

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anothergoogler
Six month old blogspam, but all it takes is a baiting title to hit the front
page here. Hurr durr Oracle, hurr durr Java!

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grawprog
>Due to the Oracle Java license cost changes, companies will need to collect
and identify every application that is running Java SE 8 before the beginning
of 2019. Doing so will ensure an accurate forecast of costs and potential non-
compliance risk for future software audits in upcoming years.

>Oracle suggests running a tool to ﬁnd Java installations using a Java package
called Java Usage Tracker. This will report information like:

>The Java versions Application name Type (applet, command line, etc). Location
and more However, the Oracle Java Usage Tracker requires a commercial license
– even though it’s included in the installer that comes with the free
components.

Wow.....i've honestly never been a fan of Oracle or java...but this...I just.
I'm not even sure what to say to this.

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lukevp
I'm not clear on what this means. Does this affect running open source
applications built on Java in a commercial setting, such as Kafka or
Cassandra?

~~~
pjmlp
Nothing, just keep using OpenJDK or get support from another Java vendor.

Charging for support of EOL Java versions isn't new, even Sun used to do it.

~~~
lukevp
Thanks for the explanation!

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sdinsn
Title is incredibly misleading.

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slededit
I think we're going to see a massive migration over to C# and .NET. Even if
the prices were reasonable ($15,000 per processor?!) the overhead of license
compliance is way too high.

The major apps will obviously not be re-written but all the little utilities
and glue will move pretty quickly.

~~~
pjmlp
First people that keep suggesting this don't have any clue how big the Java
world actually is.

There are lots of platforms where .NET has no presence at all.

Second, Sun also used to charge support for EOL releases, but it is cool to
hate Oracle.

~~~
slededit
They are world renowned for their intrusive audits/shakedowns - and that's
just with their database products. Java utilities are an order of magnitude
more prevalent. That's why the main cost is still going to be license
compliance regardless of what they charge upfront.

Java isn't going away but those that can migrate will. Especially after their
first audit.

~~~
pjmlp
You don't pay anything for OpenJDK.

Also, I really don't get this mentality of wanting to be paid for work, while
refusing to pay for the work of others.

