Programming for the enterprise or even programming a moderately sized project cannot be done without the use of external libraries. In the Java world, most of the libraries we use are open source and, more or less, free. When we buy a library, there is usually a standard process enforced by the purchasing department. In such a case, there is a written policy about how to select the vendor and the library. In the case of "free" software, they do not usually care, though they should. In such a case, the selection process mainly lies with the IT department and it is therefore important to know the major points to be considered before selecting a library even if it's free.
In the previous paragraph, I put the word free between ...
