
Ask HN: Should I jump to OpenJDK 11 now that support for 8 is running out? - pc2g4d
My understanding is that OpenJDK 8 will no longer receive updates after January 2019. Most of my Java code targets Java 7 and some Java 8. What would be the consequences for me of jumping to the OpenJDK 11? How does it do with lower source levels? Are there any gotchas I should be aware of?
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vkaku
It is a good time to jump to Java 11. It may not be too difficult getting the
code to run per se, unless you are using CORBA and some really old tech. It
would also be a good idea to invest some time into the launcher scripts and
modular packaging in your application.

However, it is high time you consider taking up a non Oracle distribution if
you are looking for support. Rely on any distribution you can build yourself
than going for a vendor downloadable distribution like Corretto. No vendor
lock ins, even the benevolent ones.

My current favorite is
[https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK](https://github.com/AdoptOpenJDK)

I'm keeping a watchful eye on if any of these repos close/lose support. If
anything of that sort happens, I'm ready to drop Java and rewrite it.

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bigiain
Amazon have committed to providing security updates to their build of OpenJDK
version 8 (called Corretto) a until "at least June 2023"

[https://aws.amazon.com/corretto/faqs/](https://aws.amazon.com/corretto/faqs/)

So things aren't as dire as "support stops in 3 weeks!!!". But moving to 11
isn't a bad idea anyway, since you're going to have to do so sometime anyway.
(interestingly Amazon have (so far) only committed to updates for Corretto 11
until August 2024...)

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fiftyacorn
It depends on the application -

are you using app servers? will you need to migrate/upgrade those? Are all
your dependencies J11 compliant?

Its a reasonably big jump from JDK8 -> post-9 with modules. But should be
doable

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pragmaticlurker
yes, jump to 11 (nearly approaching the 12)

