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Because we’re Java Developers, too

Red Hat and the JBoss Community have developed many popular, innovative technologies and projects that have shaped Java as we know it. This activity is most notably around Red Hat® JBoss® Middleware, but is also taking place in many related open source projects. In addition, we also make use of Java in a wide range of our other products.

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This means that, as a Java developer, you'll find plenty to keep you happy with our support for various flavors of your favorite language. We provide a range of tools to get your Java and Java EE applications up and running. Also, we offer you the opportunity to take your Java skills a little further, as you can get involved with several open source projects.

Read on to discover how:

  • We use Java in Red Hat JBoss Middleware
  • We support your Java coding in Red Hat Enterprise Linux® and JBoss Middleware
  • To get your applications up and running in the cloud with OpenShift by Red Hat
  • To get involved and contribute to the global, free software movement

How we use Java: Red Hat JBoss Middleware

Red Hat JBoss Middleware is our enterprise-ready middleware portfolio, which is also well positioned to help customers take advantage of cloud computing. Underpinned by a set of developer and management tools, JBoss Middleware offers products for unified user interaction, business process management, application integration, data virtualization, and application server and in-memory computing.

JBoss Middleware can be run by an enterprise on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (making use of Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization as required) or within a hosted version of OpenShift by Red Hat. OpenShift also provides every Java developer with an option to run applications for JBoss Middleware in the cloud.

While JBoss Middleware provides for development using various Java and web technologies, the majority of our JBoss Middleware products are coded in Java.

Learn more about JBoss Middleware.

Supporting your code: Red Hat Enterprise Linux and JBoss Middleware

Java 1.7 is available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases 5, 6, and 7, in the form of installable packages for various Java implementations. Packages are provided for OpenJDK and versions of JDKs from Oracle and IBM.

Red Hat is committed to providing updates to OpenJDK, offering you a highly stable, open source Java implementation.

When it comes to developer tools, Red Hat Enterprise Linux ships with Eclipse, with additional IDEs such as NetBeans and IntelliJ being easy to install. In addition, Red Hat Software Collections 1.1 includes Thermostat 1.0, a tool that enables you to examine your applications as they are running in a Hotspot JVM on your development workstation or within a production environment.

Learn more about JBoss Community.

An alternative approach for running Java applications is to make use of JBoss Middleware and its Eclipse-based tools. This option provides you with the ability to create enterprise-grade applications using Java EE.

Learn more about developing applications The JBoss Way.

Getting your applications running: OpenShift by Red Hat

When it comes to running your Java applications, you have several options. You can run your applications directly in Red Hat Enterprise Linux or implement JBoss Middleware, both good options for enterprise deployment. However, if you want to host your applications in the cloud then take a look at OpenShift by Red Hat.

With OpenShift, you have access to the Java EE6 application stack and a variety of data stores, such as mySQL and MongoDB. A feature that simplifies your development is the ability to build in the cloud. Simply upload your source code to OpenShift and it will build your app, bringing in the libraries as needed. This saves you from having to create, upload, and store large .war files for each release. Once your application is in the cloud, a key benefit of OpenShift is that you don't have to worry about how to provision, manage, and scale it because OpenShift does that for you. This frees you to focus on your code and delivering the best features and functions to your users.

For smaller applications, OpenShift is free.

Learn more about Java application hosting on OpenShift.

Get involved: JBoss Community projects and Fedora

JBoss Middleware is developed by the JBoss Community, and the community is also home to a number of related projects you can get involved with, such as:

  • JBoss Middleware—the complete collection of middleware products are developed upstream through the community.
  • Hibernate—a collection of projects in its own right providing a range of data-related tools. One example is Hibernate ORM, which is delivering a framework to offer data persistence and enable applications to be written easily where data outlives the application life cycle.
  • OptaPlanner—a lightweight, embeddable planning engine that optimizes solving planning problems such as employee shift rostering, agenda scheduling, vehicle routing, and more.
  • Vert.x—a lightweight, high-performance application platform for the JVM that's designed for modern mobile, web, and enterprise applications.

If you're interested in source side hacking, these projects and many more, would welcome your input and expertise. And there are other ways to get involved in the JBoss Community with blog posts, documentation, release testing, and more.

Learn more about getting involved in JBoss Community projects.

Java also has a home in the Fedora Project, which is creating the Linux-based operating system that is the foundation for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The Fedora community supports a Java Special Interest Group tasked with improving the state of Java in Fedora. This includes packaging Java libraries and applications, setting and improving standards for packaging them as RPMs, and collaboratively managing bigger changes related to Java in Fedora.

Learn more about the Java SIG. Or, get more involved by checking the Java SIGs tasks list or package wishlist.

Future updates of this content can be found at Red Hat supports Java.

Last updated: September 19, 2023