To begin, you need two components to write and run Java programs on your computer.
- An Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
- The Java Development Kit (JDK)
Java Development Kit (JDK)
The Java Development Kit contains several tools that allow you to write and run your Java code. It contains the JRE – Java Runtime Environment. This is the environment required to execute Java programs.
The JRE also contains the JVM, or the Java Virtual Machine. The Java Virtual Machine translates the code that you have written into machine language for the application to run.
The JDK also contains development tools and libraries. These tools assist you in writing and debugging programs.
Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
The IDE provides you with an environment to develop using the JDK. This is where you will organize the projects, create classes and type code. The IDE provides coding assistance, debugging tools and an environment to execute Java programs. It even includes large scale support for web applications (built-in browser and web containers), databases and even collaboration tools, such as GitHub, for sharing code with colleagues.
There are multiple IDEs available. Some organizations will purchases licenses to a very robust tool, just as IntelliJ. Some users will even elect for a lightweight IDE like BlueJ. Tutorials on this site will use Eclipse because it is free and easy to get started without any license verifications or accounts. It also provides support for Spring and database tools for advanced topics.
Up Next: Development Environment Installation