Re: [mat-dev] Could we make Java 21 a requirement for the next MAT relea

[Nathan Reynolds <numeralnathan@xxxxxxxxx>]

> I agree on the standalone build but what’s the benefit of requiring higher Java for the update sites? The main negative of doing that is that users on older versions of Eclipse can no longer use MAT.

Good point.

> I’m not aware of any security vulnerabilities in the MAT plugins that we’re exposed to because we haven’t upgraded past Java 8.

A few security vulnerabilities were fixed in MAT 1.16.0 via dependency upgrades.  But, your question is if Java 8 has known unfixed security vulnerabilities.  Not yet.  If I understand correctly, Oracle will continue to fix Java 8 security vulnerabilities for another few years.

On Fri, Jan 17, 2025 at 12:46 PM KEVIN GRIGORENKO via mat-dev <mat-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hey Nathan,

 

> why not move to the Java version of Eclipse?

 

I agree on the standalone build but what’s the benefit of requiring higher Java for the update sites? The main negative of doing that is that users on older versions of Eclipse can no longer use MAT.

 

I’m not aware of any security vulnerabilities in the MAT plugins that we’re exposed to because we haven’t upgraded past Java 8. Krum, are there automated scans running or is there an Eclipse service that offers that?

 

-- 

Kevin Grigorenko

Application Runtimes SWAT, IBM Software Support

 

 

From: Nathan Reynolds <numeralnathan@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Friday, January 17, 2025 at 12:51 PM
To: Memory Analyzer Dev list <mat-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: KEVIN GRIGORENKO <kevin.grigorenko@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [mat-dev] Could we make Java 21 a requirement for the next MAT release?

For MAT in Eclipse, why not move to the Java version of Eclipse? Eclipse already requires a minimum Java version (i. e. , Java 21). Having MAT work on Java 8, 11, or 17 does nothing since it is going to run on Java 21 in this case. For standalone

For MAT in Eclipse, why not move to the Java version of Eclipse?  Eclipse already requires a minimum Java version (i.e., Java 21).  Having MAT work on Java 8, 11, or 17 does nothing since it is going to run on Java 21 in this case.

 

For standalone MAT, why not move to the latest Java version (up to Eclipse's version)?  Users can simply install the needed JDK and have multiple JDK versions on their machine.  I have Java 8, 11, 17, and 21 installed on my machine and use the appropriate version for the program I am running.  I would run MAT on Java 21 or latest LTS version to take advantage of all the performance gains including better GC.

 

 

On Fri, Jan 17, 2025 at 9:01 AM KEVIN GRIGORENKO via mat-dev <mat-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hey Krum,

 

I agree, the standalone MAT should require whatever the latest Eclipse requires. I just searched and we don’t specify maven.compiler.source or maven.compiler.target properties in pom.xml so is the compiler version chosen based on Bundle-RequiredExecutionEnvironment in MANIFEST.MF, or is it just chosen by whatever version of the compiler is used on the build machine? In my opinion, unless there’s a need to increase the compiler version for MAT development, it would be nice to build MAT with Java 8 so that users could continue to add the MAT update site to older Eclipse builds and Java 8 is currently the oldest LTS release.

 

-- 

Kevin Grigorenko

Application Runtimes SWAT, IBM Software Support

 

 

From: mat-dev <mat-dev-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx> on behalf of Tsvetkov, Krum via mat-dev <mat-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Friday, January 17, 2025 at 2:03 AM
To: Memory Analyzer Dev list <mat-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Tsvetkov, Krum <krum.tsvetkov@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] [mat-dev] Could we make Java 21 a requirement for the next MAT release?

Hi, I am looking for feedback on how to deal with the minimal Java version required for standalone MAT. End of last year there was a post on the cross-projects list [1] which (if I understand it correctly) announced that the starting with the

Hi,

 

I am looking for feedback on how to deal with the minimal Java version required for standalone MAT.

 

End of last year there was a post on the cross-projects list [1] which (if I understand it correctly) announced that the starting with the 2025-03 release the Eclipse Platform will require Java 21. This would mean that once we start using this version as the basis for standalone MAT, we’d also require Java 21.

 

In the past MAT has been rather conservative, trying to keep the Java requirement as low as possible - knowing that many of the corporate customers are still using relatively old java versions. However, my current thinking is that:

• It is good to stick to the latest platform and if it requires a newer Java, then also MAT should require it. Not because of new functionality - I believe MAT could work just fine not utilizing the new platform features, but we need to pick updated dependencies – otherwise CVEs accumulate, and it becomes difficult to include the standalone MAT in a product where strict policies apply
• Users who cannot use a newer JDK still have the possibility to use an older standalone MAT or install the MAT features into an older Eclipse installation.

 

What are your thoughts on this?

 

Regards,

Krum

 

[1] https://www.eclipse.org/lists/cross-project-issues-dev/msg20005.html

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