The Legend of OpenJDK and the Battle for Java's Throne.

📖Storytime ...

Once upon a time, in the magnificent land known as the Java Kingdom, a thriving community of Java developers flourished. They relied on the Oracle-JDK, a trusted tool provided by the benevolent ruler, Oracle, who had taken the helm of leadership from, Sun Microsystems, rumored to be the original creator of the Kingdom. For years, the Java developers enjoyed prosperity and abundance, unaware of the impending turmoil that would soon turn their world upside down.

In the year 2017, a dark cloud descended upon the Java Community. Oracle the noble king, who had seen the immense potential of the tool he had bestowed to his subjects, grew jealous and driven by greed and a thirst for money, made a fateful ill-advised decision. Oracle, advised by his famed trusted advisors a.k.a product directors, proclaimed that the beloved free Oracle JDK would henceforth be primarily reserved for commercial and support customers a.k.a the elite families of the kingdom. The news shattered the Java people, leaving them feeling alienated as profits took precedence over their welfare.

Amidst this despair, rumors of a prophecy circulated among the people. It was foretold that a child born a direct descendant of the king would rise to save the Java Kingdom in its most dire time. Little did they know that this prophecy would manifest in the present crisis.

Enter OpenJDK, a young and inexperienced project that had been in the works since Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems back in 2010. Fate had chosen this inexperienced soldier and son to lead the charge and liberate the people from his own father's, Oracle, reign, and even though initially uncertain of his own capabilities, found himself thrust into a position of leadership within the army, with the hopes of becoming a great leader one day.

In a remarkable turn of events, a group of valiant warriors emerged in the Java Kingdom; Eclipse Adoptium , Azul Zulu, and Amazon Corretto who saw the true meaning behind the prophecy. They recognized that OpenJDK, despite his youth and lack of training, would eventually fulfill his destined role in standing against Oracle's tyranny. To support and train OpenJDK, they offered their own free builds, promising extended update periods spanning years. This promise resonated deeply with the people of the Java Kingdom, who longed for this liberation and could now rejoice as they felt the shackles of oppression loosening, even though they still had a hard task ahead of migrating production workloads to the new tool. And so it became commonplace that the Oracle JDK was available to commercial & support customers, while the OpenJDK was released as a free offering for all users. 

Over time, Oracle became afraid that OpenJDK would one day overthrow him. The people's sentiments were changing more rapidly than he had anticipated, and they were doing so in droves. It dawned on him that if he didn't act fast, he might lose everything he had worked so hard to build. And so, he sought to amend his judgment, to right the wrongs that had led them to this point. The emergence of the valiant warriors had shown them that the people wanted change, and Oracle knew that they had to be the ones to provide it if they wanted to survive.

Oracle hastily announced, in the summer of 2021, that he would re-introduce the free Java license, proclaiming that from version 17 onwards, the Oracle JDK would be free for production use. And to spice it up, he even promised updates for LTS versions for at least one year after the subsequent LTS version. However, Oracle's knee-jerk reaction fell on deaf ears as the people of Java had lost their trust and were unwilling to be swayed again. Resentment towards Oracle's actions had grown, and the people felt deeply betrayed by their once-great ruler. They saw through the veil of false promises and no longer believed in Oracle's sincerity.

The resistance against Oracle grew to such a level that even #IntelliJ IDEA, a renowned swords smith, beloved by the Java people and then a very close ally to the king, switched sides. IntelliJ IDEA pledged not to promote Oracle JDK 17 and instead encouraged the use of other OpenJDK builds particularly Eclipse Adoptium 's version having seen all the atrocities committed to the people of Java. The message was crystal clear: Oracle had lost the favor of the Java kingdom.

Only time will tell how this story ends. The people of the Java Kingdom are waiting with bated breath for the outcome, hoping that OpenJDK will prevail and restore justice to their kingdom. Although Oracle has made some efforts to amend its past mistakes, the damage done is not easily forgotten. Will OpenJDK be able to prove its worth and lead the people of Java to a brighter future? Or will Oracle be able to salvage its reputation and continue ruling over the kingdom? Whatever the outcome, it is sure to be an epic battle that will shape the future of Java for generations to come.