up vote 3 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I would like to uninstall as many Oracle products from my computer as possible because I don't like that company. However, I require Java for some of my applications, e.g. Eclipse.

What alternatives exist for the Oracle Java Runtime Environment for Windows that will work with third party apps?

link|improve this question
Oracle Java virtual machine? :S – Simon Sheehan Oct 21 '11 at 21:31
Which operating system are you using? – music2myear Oct 21 '11 at 21:43
Not liking Oracle as a company is a silly reason to remove their JVM, especially since it's probably the most stable one as of now, being the official reference implementation. – esalaka Oct 21 '11 at 21:43
@esalaka I don't use java in most of my apps, and I really dislike Oracle. Why would I use products from a company that I pretty much hate at this moment.? – Funvill Oct 21 '11 at 22:23
@music2myear I am using windows vista, soon to be win7. – Funvill Oct 21 '11 at 22:24
show 1 more comment
feedback

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

Just to be clear, there "Java" is not one thing.

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) - the most common form of Java, allows applications written in Java to run on your computer. This is the "java plugin" or the "java virtual machine (jvm)"

Java (the language) - an object oriented programming language.

Java (the compiler) - turns Java code (language) into class files that can be executed by the JRE/JVM.

Java (the library) - a set of components for cross-platform GUI and other programming elements.

I assume you're asking about replacing the JRE, the Java plugin that most people use. If you mean otherwise, please update your question.

Microsoft used to have a Java Virtual Machine included on all their OSes, but that is usually ignored in favor of a JRE plugin from Oracle.

There are a few other JRE/JVM replacements you can try:

JOEQ (ironically enough itself written in Java) - http://sourceforge.net/projects/joeq/

Wonka - http://wonka.acunia.com/

Sable (no longer actively maintained) - http://sourceforge.net/projects/sablevm/files/

Each of these may have some amounts of compatibility, but you'll probably find when running Java meant for a newer version of the JRE, you may run into compatibility issues.

Something else to consider is whether or not you really need Java. Are there specific tasks you do that actually explicitly require JRE to run? If not, try going without it.

link|improve this answer
There's also IcedTea but I don't know if it works on OSX or Windows. I'd guess there's a port if it can't be built directly on those platforms, though. – esalaka Oct 21 '11 at 21:42
You are correct I do mean Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Question updated. Also as far as I can tell the only application that I have that requires java is eclipse. I'm testing your suggestions now. – Funvill Oct 21 '11 at 22:30
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

I've never used it but you may want to look into OpenJDK.

link|improve this answer
OpenJDK seems to be for linux only. – Funvill Oct 21 '11 at 22:25
@Funvill: There are (outdated) unofficial builds of OpenJDK for Windows available at OpenSCG. – kAlug Oct 22 '11 at 2:44
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.