Java's 30th Anniversary—A Look At Years Of Sun And Clouds
The 30th anniversary of Java, which the Java community is celebrating this year, offers a perfect opportunity to reflect on the remarkable changes the ecosystem has undergone.
In this article, I aim to compare a few initial and modern Java approaches, highlighting that the sustained demand for Java, particularly its continued dominance in enterprise software development, does not mean the code has remained static. Java and its ecosystem have undergone a dynamic transformation over the years, driven by vibrant OpenJDK contributions and a shift away from some of its original concepts.
From Proprietary To Open-Source
As many know, Java was initially developed as proprietary code by Sun Microsystems. In 2006, it began transitioning to an open-source model, a process that culminated in 2011 with the release of Java SE 7 by Oracle. As a result, Java spent 16 years as proprietary, closed-source software and for nearly half its lifespan, 14 years, it has been available as open-source code.
The benefits of open-source development stem from collective efforts: the larger and more active the community around the code, the greater the programming advancements. In the case of Java, the OpenJDK community has played a pivotal role in ensuring that the platform remains highly adaptable to evolving business demands.
Today, open-source code is embedded in nearly every software application. A 2022 Linux Foundation study estimated that 70–90% of modern software solutions contain some open-source components. A more recent 2025 Open Source Security and Risk Analysis report highlights that as much as 97% of current codebases incorporate open-source code.
In Java programming, both proprietary and open-source Java ecosystems are available, but the industry's preference has increasingly shifted toward OpenJDK. However, the transition from proprietary Java to OpenJDK is still ongoing. While Oracle was the dominant JDK distribution provider in 2020, with around 75% of the Java market, its share had declined to just 21% by 2024, according to the latest New Relic Report.
Switching to OpenJDK is a logical choice, often driven by the need to reduce Java-related costs, secure support for legacy Java versions (discontinued by Oracle), or address similar business concerns.
The essence of today's Java market lies in the healthy coexistence of both proprietary and OpenJDK options. Java continues to hold a top position in enterprise development, and for many businesses, it was the original language of choice. This freedom to choose between proprietary and open-source versions is a key strength of the Java ecosystem.
Contemporary Java And Its Legacy Releases
While Java's latest Long-Term Support (LTS) releases offer continuous feature enhancements, it is surprising that these versions are not always the most widely adopted. Regular upgrades have yet to become a mainstream practice in many organizations.
As of today, 28.8% of businesses still rely on Java 8, and a significant number of enterprises continue using Java 6.
However, the 2024 New Relic State of the Java Ecosystem Report highlights an encouraging trend: an increased adoption rate of newer Java releases, such as Java 17 and 21. Across the industry, JDK 17 holds 35% of the market share, followed closely by JDK 11 at 33%.
Multiple reports on JDK usage confirm that enterprises often prefer to stick with classic and mature Java versions. This approach reflects a business priority toward innovation rather than maintenance. In many cases, software developed on older platforms, such as JDK 6, remains in use because there is no immediate need for migration, as long as support is available.
Summarizing Java's development trends on its 30th anniversary: Enterprise-level applications continue to rely on a mix of older and modern LTS versions. Java has evolved into a versatile platform that supports a variety of environments—some optimized for cloud deployments and others tailored for server-side applications. This diversity, along with the freedom to choose from various frameworks, libraries, LTS versions and other ecosystem tools, is one of Java's greatest strengths.
Over its 30 years of development, Java has become one of the most complex and expansive coding ecosystems, offering developers a rich set of instruments to build modern software. The only limitation is the challenge of making the right choices amidst this vast landscape.
A Server Code Has Gone To Cloud
When Java was created, software was built for server-side use, and cloud technologies did not exist. The rise of the cloud has impacted Java development practice in many ways.
If monolithic structures were mainly used in its early years, today, developers apply microservice architecture, allowing greater speed and flexibility of operations in the cloud. Cloud native architecture, in turn, requires new kinds of Java instruments, relying heavily on microservices, small containers, GraalVM native images and other modern tools, all of which are designed to improve Java's performance in the cloud.
The OpenJDK community encountered many challenges in uniting Java with the cloud. It is fair to say that the majority of OpenJDK initiatives of the last decade were aimed at improving Java qualities in the cloud so it could operate at lower cost and faster speeds.
Thanks to these initiatives, the latest JDK 24 differs significantly from Java 1.4. Frankly, nothing has stayed the same in Java. Modern LTS releases allow for more effective memory usage and vertical scaling, with the help of new generations of GCs, a decreased memory footprint with features such as compact object headers (which are still experimental), while development was facilitated via a multitude of public JEPs (enhancement proposals), etc.
I could go on listing more features and initiatives managed by the Java community in its thirty years of existence, but they are too many, and too complex to be covered in one article. The variety of changes that have reshaped Java's essential qualities demonstrate the idea of Java dynamism in full. The transformations Java has gone through brings a constantly evolving code to the scene.
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