Why is java -version implemented in Java?

[Volker Simonis]

On Fri, Nov 20, 2020 at 7:08 PM Alan Bateman <Alan.Bateman at oracle.com> wrote:
>
> On 20/11/2020 16:22, Thomas Stüfe wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > java -version seems to be called by scripts very frequently to get the java
> > version. Folks complain about the time that takes.
> >
> > I always wondered, why is this implemented in java? Which requires the
> > whole jvm machinery to start up just to print the version information.
> >
> > VersionProps.java seems not to be very complex; that information could have
> > been baked into the launcher, or the hotspot.
> >
> > Or is using 'java -version' as a simple VM test just too convenient?
> >
> The alternative to scripts running `java -version` is to examine the
> `release` file in the top-level directory. Could the scripts that you've
> encountered be changed to look at that instead?

That's an alternative but not the answer to the question :)

I'm also not sure how "common" or "standard the "release" file is? I
know at least two popular distributions which don't have that file
while "-version" seems to be a documented and supported option.

I think there's probably a lot of history and legacy around "-version"
and it's implementation. It actually prints "many" versions, e.g. the
VM version, the class library version, etc.  Most of the "-version"
output is also exported as system properties and as such only
"generated" at runtime.

Maybe one solution could be to implement a short-cut into OpenJDK's
standard launcher to use the information from the "release" file if
that is present? That should be pretty safe as the times when you
could simple swap the VM in a JDK release are long gone :)

>
> -Alan