New Java licensing on servers - JDK or Java SE?

CodeShark

3/4/24, 2:34 PM

I'm evaluating whether I should code a new (possibly commercial) Linux server software in Java 19. I just noticed that beside of the major Oracle license disaster a few years ago, there is a new license for Java SE since this year and a "Oracle No-Fee Terms and Conditions" license (NFTC) for newer JDKs. I tried to understand the new license policies but I'm still not certain that I'm right. So does someone have experiences with this topic already? If I understand it right, I could run the JDK on a server for free while Java SE would require a paid license. Is there a reason why I shouldn't use JDKs on a server and thus should prefer a simple Java SE installation? From a technical point of view, I suspect I could run both versions for executing Java files/binaries.

Of course I'm aware that there are certain benefits in case of a paid Java license, e. g. receiving support and some other support tools from Oracle. This kind of benefits are fair and might be worth a paid license. In this case, it's not relevant. Furthermore I'm aware that this question might be not easy to answer and thus could be better asked towards Oracle or a license lawyer. Beside of that, I'm still interested in your experiences or understanding on this topic.

Thank you for your help!

Best Regards,

0 + 3

linux

java

licensing

CodeShark

3/4/24, 2:49 PM

I see @vidarlo, thank you. I would be happy if it's not considered to-be-closed off-topic. If it is, I'm fine with that too. I tried to find out if this kind of question is OK here but didn't find that post and the 'licensing' tag let me assume that it might be OK to ask. Is there maybe a different stack/site where this better fits then?

vidarlo

3/4/24, 2:52 PM

It should be noted that the licensing tag has the following text: *Per the FAQ, licensing questions are generally off topic on SeverFault.*

CodeShark

3/4/24, 2:55 PM

Sorry then! I saw that note but I thought it means it's "allowed" off-topic like a topic that shouldn't be the main focus on this page but can be anyway asked. I will accept your duplicate suggestion.

Elon Musk

I sit in a Tesla and translated this thread with Ai:

EN: New Java licensing on servers - JDK or Java SE?

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.