Microsoft To Release Its Own Java

It almost looks like a proper step in the direction of oracles: As soon as the competitor has suffered its big defeat against Google, Microsoft publishes a preview of an in-house Java distribution for various platforms.

The Redmond-based company used the open Java variant OpenJDK and adapted it in some places according to its own preferences and requirements. What came out is called ” Microsoft Build of OpenJDK “. The software can be downloaded and used in the form of binaries for Windows, macOS and Linux as well as source code from Microsoft.

When using the Microsoft version of OpenJDK, users not only have the advantage that various adaptations to the platforms of the Redmond-based software group have already been incorporated. The project is also designed as free long-term support (LTS) distribution, so the company guarantees the maintenance of the code over a longer period of time, which is not necessarily the case with the pure open source project.

Diverse Use In The Company

The preview of the Microsoft Build of OpenJDK has Java 11 as its core. Based on the latest releases by the OpenJDK team, an early access binary of Java 16 for Windows systems with an ARM processor is also included. Microsoft also guarantees that the compatibility is completely guaranteed so that any existing OpenJDK use can be replaced by the new Microsoft package – and vice versa if necessary.

Microsoft pointed out that Java plays an important role in many of the company’s products – from a game like Minecraft to the large cloud instances in the Azure data centres. “We use more Java than you can imagine,” commented the publication. All changes to the original OpenJDK version are openly documented and flow back to the open-source project.