> If I forget to update OpenJDK, Oracle could come after me

I must have missed that section of the GPLv2.

Oracle does distribute a different (not OpenJDK) Java distribution under a special not-open-source no-cost license, which includes a stipulation that you can't use updates after the next LTS release. This only adds to the confusion: you really only need Oracle's special distribution if you want paid Oracle support for it or their stuff that requires it.

>Even using OpenJDK is a sword of damocles waiting to fall.

No, it really isn't. Honestly, people seem to go to great lengths of talking nonsense to discredit Java. There are many reasons to not like a language, and that is absolutely fine. But there is no point talking nonsense about it when you could just... not use it.

> "Am I using the correct language runtime distribution (or version thereof) so I don't get into legal trouble?" Is a question none of Java's competitors have to ask.

I am not sure this is 100% true. I think that if you download a specific binary of Anaconda (for Python), you may get into a situation where you have to pay.

For example, at Anaconda.com, one can download their distribution (their build) but the fine print says: "Use of Anaconda’s offerings at an organization of more than 200 employees/contractors requires a paid business license unless your organization is eligible for discounted or free use."

I think that PSF License is permissive and allows binary versions of Python without the maker having to release the source code.

So, downloading Anaconda as a Python distribution (build) is analogous to downloading Oracle JDK (a commercial build of OpenJDK, from Oracle).

This coming from a big Oracle skeptic. None of this is true. There is no practical friction left if you're using OpenJDK. And from the parent comment, you do not need to upgrade every 6 months. Most people just work with the LTS version.

That's because none of Java's competitors have commercial support offerings to begin with, as far as I know?

It's the same situation as with Linux. Red Hat Enterprise Linux isn't free. But it'd be weird if you said you're afraid of using Linux because the licensing is too complicated.

> "Am I using the correct language runtime distribution (or version thereof) so I don't get into legal trouble?" Is a question none of Java's competitors have to ask.

Umm..sorry, but this is just sheer nonsense. There are many commercial Python distributions like ActiveState ActivePython, Anaconda Enterprise, etc that you need to pay for.

If you download and use their prebuilt ActivePython installer without a proper license in a commercial setting, you’re breaching a contract and will get into legal trouble.

> This is a problem/risk I don't have to worry about with any other language,

No, you most certainly DO have to worry about this in many other languages which offer commercial support offerings. (Python/C++/Perl/NodeJS,etc)

> Even using OpenJDK is a sword of damocles waiting to fall.

Just a plain, bald-faced lie.

What, exactly, are the JVM's competitors (not Java, btw)? You can always use Kotlin or Scala if they take your fancy. They both interop fantastically with 20+ years of the Java ecosystem.

EDIT: The only remotely competitive ecosystem is JS/TS (because billions of pre-installs) and C#.

> Even using OpenJDK is a sword of damocles waiting to fall. If I forget to update OpenJDK, Oracle could come after me. It's just risk that I don't have to worry about by choosing not to go with Java. It's probably not a lot of risk, but it's risk nonetheless that doesn't exist with Java's competitors.

This is absurd hyperbole.

> If I forget to update OpenJDK, Oracle could come after me.

What?

You usually have to explictly opt-in to installing an Oracle JDK because... you know, they have a license agreement that you must agree to.

So there's no friction, everyone uses the OSS ones unless you have very specific needs.

Can you explain what the friction is ? If you download and install the ActiveState Python distribution in a commercial setting and accept the license agreement without reading and get sued legally at a later point, will you say Python has too much friction ?

Just go to https://openjdk.org/ and click "Download". Or say `brew install openjdk` (macOS) / `apt install openjdk` (linux).

ZERO friction.

There is no friction. Don't use commercial products if you don't want to pay for them. End of story.

I don't think "was always" is an accurate statement

However, above and beyond free, it is also a collection of ECMA standards https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/fundamentals/standa...

Now, don't get me wrong: I have grave suspicions there is currently only one actual implementation of them (I don't count hobby, or abandonware, ones) but IMHO "actual standard" combined with "for real reference implementation" is way better than just reference implementation

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since I'm still within the edit window, the MAUI referenced by the sibling comment is MIT licensed https://github.com/dotnet/maui

https://github.com/dotnet/blazor (Apache 2) is marked an archived, and points to https://github.com/dotnet/aspnetcore (MIT) but command-f blazor on its readme is nothing so :shrug:

And .NET is truly cross-platform for 11 years already (since .NET Core 3.0 was released). No licensing/patent/litigation issues since then.

Great GUI cross-platform GUI toolkit (MAUI), great WASM engine (Blazor).

Upcoming .NET 10 is going to be awesome.

Just go to https://openjdk.org/ and click on the "download" link.

Or use your OS package manager and <pkgManager> install openjdk. Problem solved.

Just like any other software, you know ?