Backport older Java versions

[aep-sunlife]

Description:

Support Java 7-.

Justification:

To benefit from GitHub Actions and convenient setup-java workflows, concurrent with efforts to upgrade Java in legacy projects, e.g. scientific applications.

[priyagupta108]

Hello @aep-sunlife, Thank you for this feature request. We will investigate it and get back to you as soon as we have some feedback.

[skateball]

Hi @aep-sunlife , have you checked which distributor is still offering java 7 releases?

have you checked already if the following might work?

steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-java@v4
  with:
    distribution: 'zulu'
    java-version: '7'
- run: java HelloWorldApp.java

In case that is not working, please consult Azul.com if they are willing to submit a PR. Regards Christian

[lmvysakh]

Hi @aep-sunlife,

Thank you for your thoughtful feature request and for highlighting the needs of teams working with legacy Java environments. After careful consideration, we have determined that the vast majority of major Java distributions no longer support Java 7, with only a select few vendors offering limited, paid support. This presents significant challenges in terms of sourcing secure and reliable binaries, as well as maintaining compatibility across the modern GitHub Actions runner environments. Furthermore, the technical complexities and ongoing maintenance burden required to safely enable and validate support for such an outdated platform are substantial.

If you are facing a specific issue related to setup-java, please feel free to share your relevant workflow files, error logs, and any additional details. We would be happy to look into particular problems you are encountering and offer guidance where possible, within the limits of currently supported Java versions. Also, we encourage teams to consider upgrading to a more recent, widely supported Java version where possible.

[lmvysakh]

Hello @aep-sunlife,

Just a friendly reminder to take a look at this issue when you have a moment. Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[lmvysakh]

Hi @aep-sunlife,

Just a gentle reminder! Could you please let us know if there are any updates from your side regarding this issue?

[lmvysakh]

Hi @aep-sunlife,

Could you please let us know if there are any updates from your side regarding this issue?

[lmvysakh]

Hello @aep-sunlife,

Due to inactivity, We are going to close this issue for now. Please feel free to reopen this issue or create a new one if necessary. Thank you!