Java 8 on OpenShift

For some time now - supported by many articles I read on the web - I thought it was a fact that

OpenShift does not support Java 8

While the OpenShift Platform as a Service environment - even some time after Java 7 left the public support track - doesn't really push you to use Java 8, it well supports it in the sense that it's simply there - but just not the default.
Of course this has been mentioned before, but there are too many recent post around stating the opposite.

OpenShift has Java 8 in Place

When you stop reading articles and just dig around in the system, you can very quickly come to the point where you see, that OpenShift has numerous Java Development Kits installed and that the default is set by Linux standard means: /etc/alternatives.
So you don't have to download it, invest space and update it regularly to the current version. This is handled by OpenShift.

Wide Choice of JDKs

The /usr/lib/jvm folder has everything you might need - JDK-wise - and a simple scriptlet in your deployment will bring you to the needed JDK:

JAVA_VERSION=1.8.0
export JAVA_HOME=`find /usr/lib/jvm -name "$JAVA_VERSION"`
if [ -z JAVA_HOME ] ; then
  echo "INTENDED JAVA VERSION NOT FOUND!"
fi 
So, no need to stay away from Java 8 because of something related to OpenShift (anymore).

Prepared Quickstart for Java 8, Gradle, and Tomcat

For the users of Gradle and Tomcat I updated this in my quickstart on github.com based on the DIY cartridge.