1

I'm installing a new Windows10 PC where Java is not installed. And I'm a bit lost at what to install.

For the JDK

On this PC, I'm developing some applications. Most of them in Java8. So I'll go for a JDK8 and a JDK11.

But which "brand" ? Oracle and OpenJDK, is this the same ? What about other brands, like the BellSoft Liberica, Zulu, etc. ? I'm lost at who is who in that Java story, who does what, etc. Why go for one and not the other ones?

For the JRE

Do I need a separated JRE? From different readings, it seems that installing a JDK, even if it is coming with a JRE is not enough. One have to install a JRE separately.

As some of my app are Java8+JavaFX, I'll go for an old Java8 JRE, and a more modern one, such as a JRE11 (LTS) or a JRE16.

And again, same question for the JRE: which "brand" ? Why go for Oracle, OpenJDK, Bellsoft, etc.

1 Answer 1

1

You should go for OpenJDK, now maintained by the community, as Oracle has abandoned free support (and development).

For the JRE, you could Create jre from OpenJDK Windows, to have your own minimal JRE.

As there is currently a large confusion about Java, since Oracle made it open-source, perhaps the following article may help clear it up: Which Java SDK Should You Use?

3
  • What are all those "builds" mentioned on the wikipedia page (in the "OPenJDK build" and further in the "External links" section with "OpenJDK builds from Oracle", "OpenJDK builds from Red Hat", "OpenJDK builds from AdoptOpenJDK"). I'm still confused. Furthermore on the "Download" section of OpenJDK they refered themselves to Oracle: "Download and install the open-source JDK for most popular Linux distributions. Oracle's free, GPL-licensed, production-ready OpenJDK JDK 16 binaries are at jdk.java.net/16;"
    – lvr123
    Mar 29, 2021 at 15:03
  • OpenJDK is based on Oracle's JDK which is now open-source. Some Linux distributions have their own compiled version. AdoptOpenJDK is a source for prebuilt binaries from OpenJDK. jdk.java.net is said to be "by Oracle", but many of its links point to OpenJDK. It's all in confusion because Oracle would like to stop supporting it. I added a link that might help.
    – harrymc
    Mar 29, 2021 at 15:22
  • Thanks for the link. Glad to see I'm not the only one finding this is a complete maze.
    – lvr123
    Mar 29, 2021 at 17:56

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .