[tannhaeuser]

There's a simple remedy to the problem of becoming dependent on a single entity wrt the programming language you choose: use only languages with "official" specs (by ISO/IEC or another respected org) and multiple implementations. That's C, C++, ECMAScript, shell, and a couple niche languages such as Ada, Fortran, and Prolog.

[brabel]

I believe Java also fits that list. The [Java Language Specification](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jls/se12/html/index.htm...) via the [Java Virtual Machine Specification](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se12/html/index.ht...) is implemented on the open-source OpenJDK project and many other free distributions exist, including from Amazon, Azul, IBM, Alibaba and others [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Java_virtual_machines#...

[LeonidasXIV]

Java is a bit special in this regard because of the Java TCK which has caused issues for e.g. Apache Harmony.