This is partly true. CE has the "serial GC," yes, and no access to G1 GC by default. But Oracle GraalVM (formerly "GraalVM Enterprise Edition," which no longer exists) was released under a much less restrictive license:
So, yes, GraalVM CE is slightly nerfed (the performance difference across all EE features is like 30% maximum, at peak, in limited circumstances). You also do not need to use GraalVM CE in as many places anymore, and Oracle GraalVM with G1 is a free download. Many free projects like Pkl use the full-blown VM.
So the runtime and libraies incorporated into native applications compiled by Oracle GraalVM is freely licensed? I tried to find that information but it's all a sea of legalese.
https://blogs.oracle.com/java/post/graalvm-free-license
So, yes, GraalVM CE is slightly nerfed (the performance difference across all EE features is like 30% maximum, at peak, in limited circumstances). You also do not need to use GraalVM CE in as many places anymore, and Oracle GraalVM with G1 is a free download. Many free projects like Pkl use the full-blown VM.
https://www.graalvm.org/latest/reference-manual/native-image...
Serial GC is still very performant. It's great for things like command line tools which don't need a low-pause long-running GC like G1.