For sharing data files and directories among users within the same machine, the /srv directory was recommended here:

• What's the most appropriate directory where to place files shared between users?

I am assuming this is still valid or recommendded — correct me if that changed.

But what should be the directory for shared development-related software like Java, Maven, Gradle? They will all be installed by unpacking .tar.gz archives. A central location for programs would be preferred over repeated installations by each user in their respective home directory.

As an example, in order to work with CI like Jenkins I would have installed many JDK versions: 11, 15 and 17, and similarly for Gradle and Maven. These are used to test a project with different environments. The mentioned software packets are installed simply by unpacking the .tar.gz files and updating the .profile file with the respective settings for them. And yes, I use these repositories as well to install servers, such as MySQL, RabbitMQ etc ...