I've created a private website for the Heaven's Disciples Knowledge Base.
I'll be using this website to log technical issues, along with the research I do and the solutions that I come up with.
OpenJDK Through Zulu Community by Azul
Disclaimer
The views expressed on this site are my own and do not reflect the views of Oracle Corporation, a company that I am an employee of at the time of writing this blog post.
The opinions expressed by visitors on this site are theirs, and not mine.
Commercial Use of Java
A few months ago, I received a Java update message with a commercial use licensing message. Starting January 2019, Oracle no longer issues public updates for commercial users of Java SE 8, ending free updates for commercial use. Oracle has moved Java SE to a subscription-based licensing model. The Oracle Java license changed for releases starting April 16, 2019.
Oracle OpenJDK
At the time, I was using Oracle JDK (Java SE Development Kit) 8 to develop proprietary software for my business, Heaven's Disciples. However, Oracle does provide OpenJDK, which is free to use under the Open Source (GPLv2+CE) license.
Various organizations and companies provide OpenJDK builds and binary distributions, including AdoptOpenJDK, Amazon Corretto, Azul Zulu Community, BellSoft Liberica JDK, IBM OpenJDK, jClarity, Red Hat OpenJDK, SAP SapMachine, and others.
Zulu Community by Azul
I have chosen to go with Zulu Community, an OpenJDK build by Azul Systems that is TCK-tested and free to download and use without restrictions.
I plan on installing OpenJFX, the free version of JavaFX, through the Zulu Community downloads as well.
OpenJDK and Heaven's Disciples Java Software
After installing OpenJDK 12, I was able to run my proprietary Java software programs, including World Engine, a Space Engine planetary system editor.
Machinations.io for Heaven's Disciples Games
Machinations.io
I've created an Open Beta account at Machinations.io for Heaven's Disciples Games.
Machinations.io is an online software that allows game developers to create an interactive flowchart to create game designs and run the simulations. This is an innovative tool to create and test game mechanics.
Machinations.io Features
This cloud-based software has templates of prebuilt diagrams to test game mechanics and components.
There is an Interactive Run for live simulations and a Quick Run for fast forward simulations. There is an Execution Chart for diagrams that plots values for the simulations.
Machinations.io Information
For more information, see the following resources:
Suggestions for Machinations.io
A feature I would like to see for Machinations.io is an API.
Once a revenue model has been created, I would also like to see an affiliate program for Machinations.io.
Heaven's Disciples Wear White Leather Background
I've set a white leather background for the Heaven's Disciples Wear website to match the clothing theme.
In the future, I'll develop a WordPress theme feature that will use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to allow website visitors to choose a dark website color scheme.
Website Header Widgets in the WordPress Theme
I've updated the Heaven's Disciples WordPress theme to include widgets in the website header area.
There is an optional top widget area that spans the width of the website content area. Beneath the top widget area are 3 optional widget areas as well.
I've also set up a workflow for automatically deploying the WordPress theme to all Heaven's Disciples websites automatically, whenever I successfully test a new build in the lab environments.
