Understanding Java JRE and JDK
Key Points
- Java has been around for over 25 years and remains one of the world’s most popular programming languages.
- The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) provides the libraries, class loader, and Java Virtual Machine (JVM) needed to run Java applications.
- The Java Development Kit (JDK) builds on the JRE by adding development tools such as the Java compiler, enabling you to create Java programs.
- Typical development workflows involve writing source code, compiling it with the JDK, and distributing the compiled program to users who only need the JRE to execute it.
Full Transcript
# Understanding Java JRE and JDK **Source:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDXMo3lX-Ug](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDXMo3lX-Ug) **Duration:** 00:05:33 ## Summary - Java has been around for over 25 years and remains one of the world’s most popular programming languages. - The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) provides the libraries, class loader, and Java Virtual Machine (JVM) needed to run Java applications. - The Java Development Kit (JDK) builds on the JRE by adding development tools such as the Java compiler, enabling you to create Java programs. - Typical development workflows involve writing source code, compiling it with the JDK, and distributing the compiled program to users who only need the JRE to execute it. ## Sections - [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDXMo3lX-Ug&t=0s) **Java Runtime Environment Explained** - The speaker introduces Java’s longevity, then details the JRE—its libraries, class loader, and JVM—and explains that installing the JRE is required for any Java program to run. ## Full Transcript
i have a technology pop quiz for you
what programming language has been
around for over 25 years and is one of
the most popular languages in the world
the answer of course is java hello my
name is jamil spain developer advocate
with ibm cloud
and with today's topic i wanted to get
more into the
jre and the jdk which are usual acronyms
you hear when it comes to how do i get
started with java so let's go ahead and
dive in
now the jre stands for the java
runtime
environment and i'm going to abbreviate
environment there and as you can elude
from the name it really means a set of
software that's there to help java
applications run
now the components of the jre
include of course the java
java libraries which you consider them
to be more like pre-written
code
writing a little fast there
next we'll have the
java
class
loader
and these names are all self-explanatory
but we'll keep breaking them down its
job naturally is to take a lot of the
java libraries and load
them into something
that we call
the jvm
and the last one of course is the java
virtual
machine
also known as the jvm
and it is the actual engine that
actually runs
the actual java code that's written and
so
these all kind of work together
although you may receive a java program
it won't run i won't understand how to
run and still you until you install
the jre uh
kind of libraries to be there you can
get these from your usual providers most
of the time any kind of standard
editor that you want to use i know i
commonly use visual studio code that has
like language packs that can help you
get started to do languages like you
know java python golang no js any kind
of language any of the requirements
needed to be there this is the primary
stuff just to run these these programs
now you'll probably hear something else
which is called the
jdk and that stands for the java
development
kit
now the jdk will actually include the
jre
and as you can elude it will give you
the additional capability to now
create applications as it will actually
include something called the
java
compiler
all right so to break this down together
jre is for running the applications and
you can generally to run any kind of job
application you will need the jre to be
installed you can get it as a standard
operating system mostly upgrades
it can be searchable that way or if
you're into
uh any kind of particular development
you'll have usually most editors will
have the capability to download these
additional libraries now once you under
create applications you'll get the jdk
so you can go and directly get the gre
on its own or get the jdk which will
include the jre to have it there to be
available and that's how the process
kind of works whenever you start writing
applications you'll start with source
code
that source code will have to be
compiled
and then the final version there is the
actual java application the java program
that you can then distribute to someone
else and all they may need is the actual
jre and this process has to keep coming
as i make changes to source code i have
to compile it now i have a program i run
it to make sure it's there
and then i start back over and keep
going through this continuous iterative
loop to kind of function
and go
so as one of the most popular languages
this is the exact way to get started
you'll see these two acronyms that come
up when you start diving into the java
ecosystem it is a language that is
popular among individual developers
as well as in the enterprise space is
something that's that's always out there
and it's very powerful language
especially with all the libraries that
are there and the capabilities it can
provide for you to go
so with that being said that's all for
today thank you for your time i'll see
you next time
if you have any questions please drop us
a line below
and if you want to see more videos like
this in the future please like and
subscribe
you