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Chapter 1. Red Hat build of OpenJDK applications in containers

Red Hat build of OpenJDK images have default startup scripts that automatically detect application JAR files and launch Java. The script’s behavior can be customized using environment variables. For more information, see /help.md in the container.

The Java applications in the /deployments directory of the OpenJDK image are run when the image loads.

Note

Containers that contain Red Hat build of OpenJDK applications are not automatically updated with security updates. Ensure that you update these images at least once every three months.

Application JAR files can be fat JARs or thin JARs.

  • Fat JARs contain all of the application’s dependencies.

  • Thin JARs reference other JARs that contain some, or all, of the application’s dependencies.

    Thin JARs are only supported if:

    • They have a flat classpath.
    • All dependencies are JARs that are in the /deployments directory.
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