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Java

Saphira Linux javaDragon

Java development on Saphira with proper support: apk add openjdk17 installs OpenJDK 17 (17.0.17_p10-r2) with the headless JRE, and Gradle drives builds alongside the Android tools. Saphira is the development machine; the agent, if you use one, is a tool you point at your code.

Available now from the hatched repository: apk add openjdk17

Saphira Linux dragon mascot

What runs natively on Saphira

Java applications built for Linux run natively on Saphira through the JVM. Server services, command-line tools and background workers are ordinary Linux Java programs here, and they behave as they would on any x86-64 Linux host with the same JDK.

What you build for other targets

  • Android applications, assembled with Gradle and the Android SDK, that run on phones and tablets, not on Saphira itself.
  • Jars and wars intended for other Linux, Windows or macOS hosts, where you deploy the artifact rather than run it here.
  • Containers and cross-compiled outputs for targets Saphira does not itself run.
NoteandroidDragon covers the Android case in detail, including the distinction between building an Android app on Saphira and running an Android app on Saphira.

What still needs another operating system

Building for a platform is not the same as running on it. Where a workload requires an operating system Saphira does not provide, for example, running a Windows- or macOS-only binary, or emulating a non-Linux environment, that step happens on a host that provides it. Saphira's job is to be an excellent place to write, build and test the code, not to pretend to be every target at once.