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Garden State Java User Group

September 2021 [b] Meeting Information

September 28, 2021
Are All OpenJDK Builds Created Equal?

We are happy to announce that Simon Ritter will be our special guest for this month's meeting as part of the Foojay OpenJDK 17+ JUG Tour!

Each release of Java Standard Edition (SE) has its own project under the OpenJDK. The source code is licensed under GPL v2 with the Classpath exception, meaning that anyone can download it, build it, and distribute the resulting binaries.

If everyone is using the same source, then all distributions will be the same, surely? Well, that's not guaranteed: even something as simple as a change in the version of a compiler could significantly impact how the executable works.

Luckily, part of the Java SE specification, as provided through individual Java Specification Requests (JSRs), is a test suite, commonly referred to as the TCK (Technology Compatibility Kit). Depending on which version of Java is involved, there are up to a hundred and fifty thousand tests.

In this session, we'll explore how the TCK can provide a very high level of assurance that your application will run in the same way on any TCK-tested build of the OpenJDK.

By the end, you'll have a clear understanding of the benefits of OpenJDK certification.