Windows server and Oracle Java updates

[Peter Schober]

* Peter Schober <peter.schober at univie.ac.at> [2016-11-30 20:29]:
> > I manually install Java in C:\Program Files\Java to avoid the JAVA_HOME
> > issue.
> > But see IDP-577.
> 
> After having gone through that issue I'm not sure whether someone
> doing the above is in for unpleasent surprises or not.
> Does this method work reliably, with the IDP and with Java updates?

Damn it, I'm not even able to get Java installed on that OS.
(Mind you, first time since NT4.0 I'm trying to use this.)

Off-topic rant below, so ignore unless you know and/or care about Java
on MS-Windows:

As per issue IDP-577 I think I want an auto-updating JVM (as to not
have to update JAVA_HOME with each JDK upgrade) so I try installing
the JRE from the oracle website, since Rod said:
  "So bottom line, install by pointing to the JRE or the JDK. Upgrade
  the JRE automatically via the sun upgrade thing. Upgrade the JDK by
  hand."
But the link "Server JRE"
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/server-jre8-downloads-2133154.html
then gives me a .tgz for MS-Windows (?)
http://download.oracle.com/otn-pub/java/jdk/8u111-b14/server-jre-8u111-windows-x64.tar.gz
which that OS knows not how to handle (of course) and which their
install instructions don't mention: they talk about some exe thing I
can't find anywhere:
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/install/install_overview.html
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/install/windows_server_jre.html#CFHGHHFJ

So I download 7-zip to extract that gzipped tar and what is the content
of that "jre" for "windows"? A folder called jdk1.8.0_111, which
actually seems to contain, well, the JDK?
Also no sign of javacpl.exe which one is supposed to use to configre
the auto-updating, which supposedly is in java_home/bin/ (but is not).

I thought java was a nuisance on Unixen, mostly due to the non-free
license and JCE policy files and all that nonsense (I'm now happily
running OpenJDK without any of those issues, despite the stark
warnings from the shib dev team; until that kills my IDP, possibly).

But how difficult can it be to get that thing installed (and updated)
on MS-Windows (if one had to, which luckily I'm only trying to figure
out on behalf of someone else)?

Please enlighten me with your Java on MS-Windows wisdom!
-peter