News Highlights:
• Azul providing pre-release builds of Zulu, its open source build of OpenJDK, for developers interested in using Java 9 features and capabilities nearly a year ahead of the scheduled Java 9 release date
• Pre-release builds of Zulu supporting Java 9 are available immediately for Windows, Linux, and Mac platforms from www.zulu.org
JavaOne 2015, San Francisco, Calif., October 26, 2015 — Azul Systems (Azul), the award-winning leader in Java runtime solutions, today announced the immediate availability of early access to Zulu, Azul’s build of OpenJDK, supporting the Java 9 SE platform. Zulu 9 is open source, freely distributable, incorporates all the planned features of Java 9, supports Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X platforms, and supports private and Cloud deployments including Amazon AWS. Azul will provide regular updates to pre-release versions of Zulu 9 based on the development cadence of the OpenJDK Java 9 project. Zulu 9 downloads and discussion forums are available at www.zulu.org.
“Zulu Enterprise has proven to be a stable and solid distribution for business users who have key applications running on various versions of Java, as far back as Java 6,” said John Abbott, Distinguished Analyst at 451 Research. “It’s great to see the tradition continuing with early access to developers almost a year ahead of the general release of Java 9.”
“In an era where developers are the new kingmakers, early access, multiple-platform support and open source are all prized characteristics,” said Stephen O’Grady, Principal Analyst with RedMonk. “With Zulu 9, Azul is checking all of those boxes with its early release of an open source Java SE.”
Ben Evans, Java Champion and Java Community Process Executive Committee Member representing the London Java Community said: “Azul’s Zulu early access build of OpenJDK 9 has provided a step change for Free Java. It is freely licensed without restrictions and provides a clear early look at Java 9. Azul is providing real value to the global community with Java binaries that reflect the emerging state of Java 9.”
“Azul is pleased to announce the immediate availability of early access versions of Zulu supporting Java 9,” said Scott Sellers, president and CEO of Azul Systems. “The upcoming Java 9 has many compelling features and capabilities that the Java community is clamoring for, and we are excited to offer pre-release builds of OpenJDK to enable developers to embrace Java 9 now.”
Pre-release builds of Zulu 9 are available immediately from the Zulu Community website at www.zulu.org. For more information about Zulu and enterprise support options available, visit https://www.azul.com/products/core/.
About Java 9
Java 9 is planned to be a major release with many long-awaited features for developers. Included in Java 9 is the initial implementation of project Jigsaw, a new modular architecture which allows users to pick and choose exactly the features they need for deployments to more effectively scale down to small devices, and also provides a more efficient run-time format for stored class and resource files than the legacy jar format. Additional features include faster graphics performance via the Marlin renderer, a new HTTP client API, a new command line tool and API called JShell, and improved keystore security. General availability of Java 9 is currently [ed: as of June 2017] scheduled for September, 2017. For more information about Java 9 and its features, visit openjdk.java.net/projects/jdk9/.
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About Azul Systems
@azulsystems
Azul Systems, the industry’s only company exclusively focused on Java and the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), builds fully supported, certified standards-compliant Java runtime solutions that help enable the real time business. Zing is a JVM designed for enterprise Java applications and workloads that require any combination of low latency, high transaction rates, large working memory, and/or consistent response times. Zulu is Azul’s certified, freely available open source build of OpenJDK with a variety of flexible support options, available in configurations for the enterprise as well as custom and embedded systems. For additional information, visit www.azul.com.
Azul Systems, the Azul Systems logo, Zulu, Zing and ReadyNow are registered trademarks. Java and OpenJDK are trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliated companies in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.