Oracle GraalVM: A New Release and Free License for Developers

2023/06/19

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Oracle has released a new distribution of GraalVM, called Oracle GraalVM, which is available for JDK 17 and JDK 20. The best part is that it is released under the GraalVM Free Terms and Conditions (GFTC) license, which means that developers can use all the features of GraalVM for free, both for development and in production.

GraalVM is a high-performance runtime for running applications written in multiple languages, including Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and R. It is known for its instant startup and efficient memory usage. With the new release, GraalVM Native Image has become even more efficient, making it an ideal choice for long-running Java applications.

In this release, GraalVM Native Image has undergone additional compiler optimizations, resulting in even faster application startup times. The performance benefits are significant, as demonstrated by a benchmark test on a Java 20 Spring PetClinic example application compiled with GraalVM Native Image, compared to JIT compilation.

The benchmark test showed that the peak throughput of Oracle GraalVM Native Image was 1.6x higher than GraalVM CE, with significantly less memory usage. However, the throughput was still slightly below JIT for this specific application.

Developers can take advantage of GraalVM's features, such as the ability to run multiple languages in the same runtime, and the ability to compile Java code ahead-of-time into a native executable. This makes it possible to create lightweight, standalone applications that can be deployed easily and quickly.

GraalVM also offers a polyglot programming model, which allows developers to write code in multiple languages within the same application. This can be useful for integrating legacy code written in different languages, or for creating microservices that use different languages for different tasks.

To get started with Oracle GraalVM, developers can download it from the Oracle website and follow the installation instructions. The GraalVM website also provides documentation, tutorials, and sample code to help developers get up and running quickly.

In conclusion, Oracle GraalVM is a powerful and versatile runtime that offers developers a range of features for building high-performance applications. With the new release and free license, developers can take advantage of GraalVM's features without any cost, making it an attractive choice for many projects.