When JRE was completely discontinued as a separate offering?

Question

Starting from Java 9 the module system was introduced, making provision of JRE separately redundant.

Through, it seems that it was still possible to download it. For example, from here now Java 9 archive Also, here it's only stated that :

Restructure the JDK and JRE run-time images to draw a clear distinction between files that developers, deployers, and end-users can rely upon and, when appropriate, modify, in contrast to files that are internal to the implementation and subject to change without notice.

The new image structure eliminates this distinction: A JDK image is simply a run-time image that happens to contain the full set of development tools and other items historically found in the JDK.

So no talk about complete removal. From : jdk-9

When you install jdk-9, public jre-9 also gets installed automatically.

Also, I was thinking that started from Java 9 the custom runtime should be always created using the jlink, but it seems it's enforced now only from Java 11. From the release notes of Java 11 here Oracle JDK release notes:

In Windows and macOS, installing the JDK in previous releases optionally installed a JRE. In JDK 11, this is no longer an option. In this release, the JRE or Server JRE is no longer offered. Only the JDK is offered. Users can use jlink to create smaller custom runtimes.

But then I can find a lot of discussions like those:

• Where is Java 9 JRE?

• Create jre from OpenJDK Windows

• Why did Java 11 JRE not install with JDK and where is the download for just the Java 11 JRE?

• Is there an openjdk-11-jre?

Is this the case and it is not possible to download JRE directly since Java 11? Or am I mixing implementations between (Oracle and OpenJDK)? Or were those discussions above misleading?

Edit: I don't need to download the jre, I could create it via jlink or use already avaialble solution, my question is more of a theoretic.

Answer 1

Is this the case and it is not possible to download JRE directly since Java 11? Or am I mixing implementations between (Oracle and OpenJDK)?

It is correct (mostly). From Java 11 onwards, neither Oracle JDK or OpenJDK JDK has a corresponding JRE available for public downloads.

However, some other distributors of Java do provide JRE downloads (or packages) as an option. Details may be found via the "Java is still free" link below.

When JRE was completely discontinued as a separate offering?

It was discontinued for the Oracle and OpenJDK distributions with Java 11. The Java 11 release notes state:

"In this release, the JRE or Server JRE is no longer offered. Only the JDK is offered. Users can use jlink to create smaller custom runtimes."

I have not been able to find any earlier public announcements from Oracle about the discontinuance of their JRE releases. (If someone finds one, please comment ...)

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Please note: this is a specific answer to the specific questions asked by the OP. For more information on the status of Java vis-a-vis licenses, distributions, vendors, support, and whether or not Java is "free", I recommend that you read the following:

• "Java is still free" written by the Java Champions community of independent Java leaders and experts.

It is a "live" document, and is likely to remain a good source of up-to-date information; i.e. more likely to be up-to-date than this Answer!

Answer 2

First of all, the question is incorrect. JRE was not discontinued. It was only discontinued by Oracle. For example, on Linux, JRE is still available*:

$ apt-cache search openjdk-11-jre
openjdk-11-jre - OpenJDK Java runtime, using Hotspot JIT
openjdk-11-jre-headless - OpenJDK Java runtime, using Hotspot JIT (headless)
openjdk-11-jre-zero - Alternative JVM for OpenJDK, using Zero

* requires repository ppa:openjdk-r/ppa

Some other JDK providers still offer JRE as well:

• Azul Zulu offers JRE.
• AdoptOpenJDK offers JRE.
• Liberica JDK offers JRE.