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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?

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  • Oracle Java virtual machine? :S
    – Simon Sheehan
    Oct 21, 2011 at 21:31
  • Which operating system are you using?
    – music2myear
    Oct 21, 2011 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.
    – user39485
    Oct 21, 2011 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.?
    – Steven Smethurst
    Oct 21, 2011 at 22:23
  • @music2myear I am using windows vista, soon to be win7.
    – Steven Smethurst
    Oct 21, 2011 at 22:24

3 Answers 3

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Sable (no longer actively maintained) - http://sourceforge.net/projects/sablevm/files/

Each of these may have some amounts of compatibility, but you'll probably find when running Java meant for a newer version of the JRE, you may run into compatibility issues.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

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  • 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.
    – user39485
    Oct 21, 2011 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.
    – Steven Smethurst
    Oct 21, 2011 at 22:30
  • Also I want to add information about Zing JVM for high load enterprise ( azulsystems.com/products/zing/whatisit ). it's expensive but may be useful.
    – Eir Nym
    Aug 30, 2012 at 11:37
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The Oracle JRE is built from OpenJDK. You can get OpenJDK from many sources, including building it yourself. Azul Systems (my employer) offers the Zulu family of downloads, all of which provide OpenJDK binaries certified to meet the Java Standard Edition test specs for each major Java version (today 8, 7, and 6.) It should be a suitable replacement for your Oracle Java runtimes on any of Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X platforms. Zulu is free to download from www.azul.com/zulu. I hope this helps. Disclosure: I am product manager for the Zulu and Zing product lines at Azul Systems.

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

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  • OpenJDK seems to be for linux only.
    – Steven Smethurst
    Oct 21, 2011 at 22:25
  • @Funvill: There are (outdated) unofficial builds of OpenJDK for Windows available at OpenSCG.
    – Aluísio A. S. G.
    Oct 22, 2011 at 2:44

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