I have always come across this dialama, which JDK between SUN Java (Hotspot) and JRockit to use when we are installing Oracle Integration Products, i.e, SOA BPEL, BPM, BAM etc.
Here are some of my findings and recomendations:
First we will need to understand
What is the difference between the Sun JVM and JRockit JVM?
The most well know JVM is the implementation from Sun. The Sun
JVM is called HotSpot. The Sun JVM is shipped in the Java Developer's
Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) from Sun.
The JRockit JVM from is optimized for reliability and performance
for server side applications. To achieve this, JRockit JVM uses
technologies such as code generation, hot spot detection, code
optimization, advanced garbage.
To know more about the differences or futures of JRockit refer
Oracle JRockit Frequently Asked Questions
Also as JRockit has been the propitiatoryJDK for BEA, I would use JRockit in Production or similar environment.
For developer environment I believe we should be OK to use either or. If you plan to debug or examine your code with Java Mission Control or want extended futures from Flight recorder than undoubtedly JRockit is your JDK.
If you have more to add please comment below.
Chaw.