Will the use of Oracle’s Java SE 8 require a fee starting January 2019?

Oracle has announced that the last public Java SE 8 update for business purposes will be released in January 2019. Going forward, there will be Long Term Support versions for Java SE 8 which every three years will lead to a new major release. There will also be updates and patches available. The users can choose to keep on using the last free Java SE 8 update from January 2019 or to purchase support (officially called Java SE Subscription). This concerns the following products:

• Java SE Advanced Desktop
• Java SE Advanced
• Java SE Suite

The Java SE Subscription is available for servers (physical and virtual) and licensed per Core (core factor 0,25 – 1), or available for desktop devices and licensed per Named User Plus.

Sources:

• offizielle Oracle Java SE Subscription FAQ Webseite (https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javaseproducts/overview/javasesubscriptionfaq-4891443.html), retrieved 2018-10-23
• Oracle Java SE Subscription price list (http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/pricing/price-lists/java-se-subscription-pricelist-5028356.pdf), abgerufen am 23.10.2018
• Oracle Java Client Roadmap (https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/javaclientroadmapupdate2018mar-4414431.pdf), abgerufen am 23.10.2018