Java changed software development and reshaped open source innovation forever, but its future was uncertain for a while. Would it remain an innovative force, or would closed governance and slow progress relegate it to history? Enter the Eclipse Foundation, where the future of open source Java was reimagined.
Java’s journey famously began in the mid-1990s, revolutionising software development with its “write once, run anywhere” promise. Originally, Java, the language, was called “Oak,” a name chosen by its creator, James Gosling, after an oak tree outside his office. Oak trees are known for their deep roots and longevity, much like Java, which has remained a cornerstone of software development for decades. While the name was later changed due to trademark issues, its original symbolism reflects Java’s foundational role in modern computing: a language built to be powerful, adaptable, and enduring. Open-sourced by Oracle in 2007, it has become the backbone of enterprise applications, cloud computing, and mobile development.
Hard Times for Java
However, as the technological landscape evolved, so too did the challenges faced by developers and enterprises. What once served as a robust and reliable foundation for enterprise applications began to show signs of strain under the weight of new demands. Among the most significant shifts was the rise of cloud-centric development, which transformed how applications were built, deployed, and maintained from the early 2000s onwards. Traditional enterprise Java frameworks, particularly Java EE, struggled to keep pace with these changes.
One of the core issues hindering Java EE’s progress was its governance model. The framework was largely controlled by a single entity, limiting external contributions and slowing the pace of innovation, frustrating developers and organisations that relied on it for mission-critical applications. This stagnation created an urgent need for a more dynamic, adaptable approach to enterprise Java development.
At the same time, organisations required stable, well-tested, and freely available Java runtimes. While the OpenJDK ecosystem thrived, providing a strong foundation for Java development, it lacked a coordinated effort to deliver trusted, vendor-neutral binaries. Organisations sought reliability and consistency in their Java environments, but the absence of a unified approach made it difficult to standardise implementations across different infrastructures. This gap in the ecosystem underscored the necessity for a collaborative, community-driven solution that could provide both innovation and stability.
JakartaEE: A New Beginning for Enterprise Java
In 2017, Oracle contributed Java EE to the Eclipse Foundation, where it was rebranded as Jakarta EE, marking a turning point. This transition ensured enterprise Java was open source and developed collaboratively and vendor-neutrally.
The Jakarta EE Working Group was formed to bring together industry leaders to define a modern, cloud-native future for enterprise Java. Through ongoing updates and community-driven development, Jakarta EE reinforced Java’s position in enterprise software.
The first major milestone in this journey was Jakarta EE 8, which was released under the governance of the Eclipse Foundation. This version provided full compatibility with Java EE 8, guaranteeing a seamless transition for enterprises while laying the groundwork for future innovation.
Next came Jakarta EE 9, a significant step in modernising the platform. This release focused on simplifying and streamlining the platform by removing outdated technologies and transitioning to the jakarta.* namespace. These changes established a more flexible foundation for future enhancements while making Jakarta EE more adaptable to evolving industry needs.
With Jakarta EE 10 and beyond, the platform fully embraces cloud native architectures, microservices, and rapid innovation cycles, ensuring enterprise Java remains competitive in a modern development landscape. These advancements enable developers to build more scalable, lightweight, and resilient applications tailored to contemporary cloud environments.
Once constrained by slow, proprietary governance, enterprise Java found new life under Eclipse, evolving into a cloud native powerhouse.
A Thriving Family of Java Technologies and Tools
Eclipse Temurin as Flagship Runtime
Java runtimes lacked a trusted, vendor-neutral home – until Temurin under the Adoptium brand emerged, ensuring enterprises had reliable, well-performed, freely available Java distributions.
Originally AdoptOpenJDK, the project became Eclipse Temurin under Adoptium Working Group in 2020, with Temurin as its flagship project.
One of the core strengths of Eclipse Temurin lies in its commitment to quality. It provides TCK-certified and AQAvit-verified binaries, ensuring that every release meets the highest industry standards. The Technology Compatibility Kit (TCK) guarantees that Temurin remains fully compatible with the Java specification, while AQAvit (Adoptium Quality Assurance) testing subjects the binaries to extensive validation, including functional correctness, security checks, and performance benchmarks. This meticulous quality control process ensures that Temurin users can rely on stable, predictable, and secure Java runtimes.
Accessibility and cross-platform support have also been a priority for Temurin. With support for 58 builds in a combination of versions and platforms, the project ensures that Java developers can deploy applications across a vast range of environments, from traditional server infrastructure to modern cloud-native ecosystems. This broad compatibility makes Temurin one of the most versatile OpenJDK distributions available today.
The project’s impact on the industry is evident through its over 500 million cumulative downloads – a testament to its widespread adoption by enterprises, cloud providers, and individual developers alike. This remarkable milestone underscores the trust that the Java community places in Temurin as a reliable, production-grade runtime.
To further strengthen its commitment to quality, the Adoptium Working Group has continued expanding AQAvit, enhancing its ability to detect regressions, ensure performance stability, and provide long-term reliability for Java applications. These continuous improvements help maintain a consistent and predictable user experience, making Temurin a preferred choice for organisations that prioritise performance and dependability.
Additionally, the introduction of the Adoptium Marketplace has made it easier for enterprises to find and adopt trusted Java binaries. By offering a curated selection of certified builds, the marketplace provides organisations with confidence in their Java runtime choices, fostering greater security and standardisation within the Java ecosystem.
Through these initiatives, Eclipse Temurin has solidified its position as a premier open-source Java runtime, ensuring that Java remains a powerful and reliable platform for modern software development.
Eclipse IDE: Adapting to Modern Java Development Needs Through a Major Renovation
A developer’s best friend for decades, the Eclipse IDE is now embracing the future with modern tooling, cloud integration, and renewed innovation.
For over two decades, the Eclipse IDE has been a trusted companion for Java developers. Since 2024, Eclipse IDE has been undergoing a significant technical renovation, one that will shape its future. This effort, which is the focus of 2025, follows key performance improvements made throughout last year. These changes have already made Eclipse more responsive and efficient, better aligned with modern development workflows.
But the Eclipse IDE is more than just an IDE – it is a Rich Client Platform (RCP), an extensible foundation that supports a wide range of desktop-based applications and products. The platform remains a crucial tool in various sectors where reliability and open-source vendor neutrality are essential.
Looking ahead, the Eclipse IDE Working Group is focusing on creating a fully modern, platform-agnostic version of the IDE, with a renovated user experience. This transformation aims to simplify long-term maintenance and ensure a sustainable technology foundation. As part of this, the user experience is being completely redesigned to meet the needs of developers today.
This project, named “Initiative 31,” represents a key moment for the Eclipse IDE. It’s also an opportunity for Java developers to get involved and contribute to the only truly open source IDE, helping shape its future.
Another key aspect of Eclipse’s modernisation is the integration of AI-driven tools, such as the highly awaited and now available Copilot plugin for the Eclipse IDE.
Cloud Dev Tools: Adapting to Kubernetes and Microservices
The Eclipse Foundation leads several initiatives in Cloud Development Tools, focusing on web-based and cloud-native development environments. These tools enable developers to work efficiently from anywhere, leveraging containerized and scalable architectures like Kubernetes and Microprofile.
Key projects include:
- Eclipse Theia is a flexible and extensible cloud and desktop IDE that is similar to VS Code. While both are hosted under the Eclipse umbrella, Theia is a completely independent project from the Eclipse IDE,. It serves a different purpose, focusing primarily on cloud-native development and providing a lightweight, customisable environment for web-based applications. In contrast, Eclipse IDE is a more traditional, feature-rich IDE, designed primarily for desktop development with extensive support for Java and other languages, as well as a robust platform for building complex, enterprise-level applications. Theia AI, integrated within Theia, offers a framework that simplifies the integration of AI-powered features into development tools. It provides reusable components for managing interactions with large language models (LLMs) and customising the user interface to handle data and prompts. Given the rapid evolution of LLMs, with various models available through cloud, on-premises, or local solutions, Theia AI allows users to choose their preferred hosting solution and LLM, accommodating different needs.
- Eclipse Che – A Kubernetes-native development workspace platform that supports collaborative, containerised, and secure development environments.
- Langium – A TypeScript-based framework for developing domain-specific languages (DSLs), providing deep integration with VS Code and cloud-based IDEs.
Additionally, the MicroProfile initiative plays a critical role in the advancement of cloud-native Java applications. As an open standard for building microservices, MicroProfile leverages Jakarta EE foundations to provide a lightweight and efficient framework for enterprise-grade applications. By focusing on portability, interoperability, and optimised performance, MicroProfile enables developers to build scalable microservices architectures that seamlessly integrate with modern cloud platforms.
As businesses continue to embrace cloud technologies, the Eclipse Foundation’s efforts ensure that Java remains a powerful and adaptable language for modern software solutions.
Breaking Vendor Lock-In with Open VSX
Not to be overlooked, the Foundation also hosts and manages Open VSX, the only open, transparent, vendor-neutral registry for VS Code extensions, offering an alternative to proprietary marketplaces and enabling unrestricted access and sharing of extensions. As mentioned in the release announcement, these extensions cover a wide range of functionalities, from code formatting and linting to language support, debugging, and version control. What sets Open VSX apart is its commitment to openness and inclusivity. Anyone can contribute to the platform, and its extensions can be used in any compatible IDE, making it a true reflection of the diverse needs and preferences of the developer community.
A Thriving Community Moving Java Forward
Beyond technology, this is about a thriving community that keeps Java moving forward. Numerous unsung heroes – developers, maintainers, and contributors – made these advancements possible. With 644 commit authors for Jakarta EE since 2017, 339 for Adoptium since 2020, and 3,199 for the Eclipse IDE, these numbers stand as a testament to the strength of this vibrant ecosystem.
Thousands of contributors, industry leaders, and Java enthusiasts rallied behind Jakarta EE, proving that open collaboration drives real progress. The same spirit fuels Adoptium, where millions trust Temurin as their go-to Java runtime.
Major Milestones
The Eclipse Foundation has played a pivotal role in advancing open-source Java, fostering innovation, and strengthening collaboration within the industry. One of the most significant transformations has been Jakarta EE’s evolution into a leading cloud-native Java platform. This shift has enabled enterprises to build scalable, resilient applications that meet the demands of modern cloud environments. Alongside Jakarta EE, the success of Temurin, an open-source Java runtime, has been marked by a major milestone, surpassing 500 million downloads while maintaining robust multi-platform support.
The modernisation of Eclipse IDE has also been a critical focus, ensuring that it remains relevant and effective for developers in the coming decade. With continuous improvements and adaptability to new technologies, Eclipse IDE remains a cornerstone of Java development. Meanwhile, Java itself continues to expand its influence in emerging fields such as Generative AI, security, and performance optimisation, proving its adaptability and enduring significance.
The growth of cloud-native Java development has been further reinforced by initiatives such as MicroProfile and Eclipse Che, which provide developers with powerful tools for building modern applications. These projects, along with increased collaboration between industry leaders, are driving sustainable innovation in the open source Java ecosystem.
To maintain this momentum, the Eclipse Foundation remains committed to strengthening governance and fostering collaboration across its projects. It actively supports the expansion of developer adoption and innovation through community engagement while facilitating the growth of new ecosystems centred around Java, AI, and cloud-native architectures. By championing these efforts, the foundation ensures that open source Java remains at the forefront of technological advancement for years to come.
Ensuring Java’s Future
Like the mighty oak the original programming language was named after, Java’s future depends on strong roots and continuous growth, never ceasing to branch out and sprout new life. Through Jakarta EE, Adoptium, and modern tools, Java is thriving – but its true strength lies in the diverse community that nurtures it. By staying engaged and contributing, we ensure Java remains open, innovative, and resilient for generations to come. Just as an oak stands firm through the storms of time, Java, with the Eclipse Foundation’s leadership, will continue to evolve and flourish. The best days are still ahead – shaped by those who build with it.
How you can contribute to Java’s future success
Here is what you can do to get involved:
- Join an Eclipse Working Group (Jakarta EE, Adoptium, MicroProfile, Eclipse IDE, etc.).
- Advocate for vendor-neutral, open-source Java within your company, be a public adopter, and check on Temurin and Cloud Dev Tools adopters page.
- Participate in community discussions, events, and projects.
Help improve Java’s ecosystem by contributing code, documentation, or sponsorship.
