Runtime fixes/enhancements for static JDK work

[Alan Bateman]

On 27/06/2023 00:46, Jiangli Zhou wrote:
> :
>
> We've already recently integrated some of the static JDK related
> changes, including duplicate symbol fixes and build changes for static
> libraries. The main tracking bug is JDK-8303796 [5] currently. We'd
> like your thoughts and opinions on if a new JEP would be needed/useful
> for the additional runtime fixes/enhancement. The question has been
> previously raised by Mark in JDK-8307858 [6] comments.

As I see it, this patch gets you to the point of creating bin/javastatic 
containing all native code needed for headless (and jpackage-less) use 
on Linux. It's as you say, something that someone working on the JDK 
could use for testing, it's not something that suitable for distribution 
as it's incomplete.

It's probably next steps where a JEP will be important, maybe several 
JEPs depending on far it goes and whether the effort is split into into 
coherent steps. There are many reasons why a JEP (or JEPs) will be 
needed. It's a significant move to produce and consume a self-contained 
static image. Today, the JDK image is zipped up or wrapped in an 
installer for developers to unzip or install. It's a big decision for 
producers of builds as to whether they will publish static images as 
alternative downloads. For developers, or other consumers of builds, 
they it's a hugely significant packaging/deployment option for developers.

A JEP for next steps will also have to answer a lot of questions about 
packaging and the deployment experience. Will a static image include all 
standard + JDK modules, how will be integrate with jlink?   Can 
developers use static image "as is" or do they have to run a tool that 
combines their modular or non-modular application with the static image. 
Is jpackage in this story? There are many topics to discuss here.

A JEP is a great place to capture topics on all the issues that arise 
from moving to a self containing file. Can jpackage or some other tool 
change the user-editable configuration when combining the output from 
the JDK build? What should code do if it re-execs itself with 
${java.home}/bin/java? Can a self-contained image be 
monitored/management when the troubleshooting/other tools don't exist. 
There are many more questions like this that a JEP could answer.

-Alan