A developer tested Java on the StarFive VisionFive 2 Lite, a 60€ RISC-V board. Using Ubuntu 24.04, they installed OpenJDK 25 and ran basic Java scripts successfully. This follows tests on other boards like the OrangePi 5 Ultra, part of a 2026 learning goal to explore Java on alternative architectures.

RISC-V is an open-standard instruction set, unlike licensed ARM or x86. This openness drives innovation, making boards like the VisionFive 2 Lite accessible for experimentation. While its performance lags behind a Raspberry Pi 5, the test confirmed Java works, though libraries like Pi4J and JavaFX are not yet supported on this platform.

The installation process was straightforward, using a pre-built Ubuntu image. For Java developers curious about RISC-V, this board offers an affordable entry point. The author plans to test Pi4J again after its v4 release, which will use the Foreign Function and Memory API, potentially improving hardware library support on the architecture.