• This site is a private, non-commercial website. As such, you're welcome here as long as you were invited. If you would like an invite, reach out to Cliff Spark

Are .NET 4.x and JDK 8.x the "zombie" runtimes of enterprise software?

  • Thread starter Thread starter pyeri
  • Start date Start date
P

pyeri

I've noticed a strong parallel between Microsoft's .NET Framework 4.x and Oracle's JDK 8.x series. Even though newer versions keep rolling out — .NET Core, .NET 6/7/8, JDK 11/17/21 — these older versions just won’t die.
A few reasons:
  • Heavy enterprise usage, especially in midcaps and MSMEs.
  • Industry inertia — teams hesitate to rewrite working systems without a compelling business reason.
  • In some cases, older stacks are more stable and “battle-tested”, especially for use cases like WinForms or thick-client apps.
It's kind of ironic that even today, the default .NET version baked into fresh Windows installs is 4.6 (or nearby), not the shiny new .NET 8/9. Meanwhile, Oracle still offers JDK 8 — albeit behind a paid support wall — much like Microsoft continues to patch .NET 4.x via Windows Update.
Eventually, these older branches will be sunset. But given their stability and widespread industrial use, I feel like that day might be decades away rather than years.
Curious to hear — how do you see this transition unfolding? And are there any good examples where teams actually migrated away from 4.x or 8.x successfully?


Comments URL: Are .NET 4.x and JDK 8.x the "zombie" runtimes of enterprise software? | Hacker News

Points: 50

# Comments: 64

Continue reading...
 
Back
Top