JDK is the Java Development Kit, JRE is the Java Runtime Environment, Java SE is the standard edition, and so on. Within a given version of Java, this answer remains valid. Oracle says no more public updates to Java 6 after February 2013. (See also .)Įdited : And the world keeps on turning ( notwithstanding), and lo and behold, JRE 6 is about to reach its end of support. The new page (based on a redirect) is this Java page at the Oracle Tech Network. Later this year, the sun.com domain is supposed to go dark.

The world turns, and Java is now managed by Oracle, which bought Sun. So, to run a Java application someone else provides, you need JRE to develop a Java application, you need JDK.Īs Chris Marasti-Georg pointed out in a comment, you can find out lots of information at Sun's Java web site, and in particular from the Java SE section, (2nd option, Java SE Development Kit (JDK) 6 Update 10). The JDK includes the compiler and other tools needed to develop Java applications JRE does not. SE defines a set of capabilities and functionalities there are more complex editions (Enterprise Edition – EE) and simpler ones (Micro Edition – ME – for mobile environments).

Oracle java se development kit 7