Everything You Need To Know About JDK In Java

If you’re planning to enter into the Java development space, then you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the Java Development Kit to produce the applications. But before you begin to asking yourself questions like, “which version of JDK is most used” and, “will I be able to run it on my touch screen laptop“, stick with us as we cover everything you need to know about the basics of what the Java Development Kit, JDK for short, is.

What is JDK in Java?

The Java Development Kit is a platform on which you can develop Java applications and Java API. It makes up one of the three pillars of Java, along with the Java Runtime Environment and Java Virtual Machine. It’s easy to get lost in the technical aspects of these pillars, so here’s a run-down of what each one of these does for the Java platform.

The Java Development Kit is the toolset that you use to create and develop Java applications.

The Java Runtime Environment, JRE for short, loads those applications onto the Java Virtual Machine.

The Java Virtual Machine hosts the programs and runs the Java process, so make sure your GPU fan is running smoothly.

The combination of these three tools lets you create a software development environment in Java, with the Java heap analysis tool ensuring feedback along the way. So, let’s jump right into how JDK fits into Java as a whole – make sure to charge your laptop battery first!

How JDK fits into the Java Runtime Environment?

This heading implies that JDK is a subset of JRE, which is a common error those new to Java are prone to make. JDK is the start of the developmental cycle, with the JRE simply being the next step to running Java applications.

Think of it like this, JDK tools are there to help you develop a Java application while JRE is there for running Java code. If anything, JRE is a part of JDK instead.

Various components of the Java Development Kit

Now that we’ve covered roughly what each portion of the Java package is, and how JDK fits into building an application using the Java programming language, let’s take a look at specific components that make up the Java Development Kit. These Java applets are the building blocks that you’ll be able to use to create a Java application. They are:

Java

Java is the premier deployment launcher of the older SUN JDK. It acts as a Java loader and interprets the class file’s source code once compiled by Javac Compiler.

Javac

Compiles source code into bytecode by specifying it to the Java compiler.

Javadoc

Documentation generator for source code comments.

Jar

Aids the archives in managing jar files in the package library. Filled with and generates Java classes.

JPS

Acts as a manager for all active Java programs for the currently executed program.

Appletviewer

Used to run and debug Java applets without the use of an internet browser.

Idlj

IDL-to-Java compiler generates Java bindings from a given Java IDL file.

Javap

A file disassembler

JConsole

is a Java Management & Monitoring Unit

Javah

is a stub generator, and C-Header is employed to write native methods.

Javaws

Acts as a Web Start launcher for your JNLP applications.

Jhat

Jhat is a Java heap analysis tool.

JMC

The Java Mission Control, JPS for short.

These are the building blocks within JDK that you’ll be using to create and develop your Java applications. Whether you’re planning to build a program that monitors your GPU temperature or a game for Macbooks, these building blocks are essential to becoming familiar with.

How to get started with JDK

If you want to get started with JDK, then the very first thing you should do is download it! This is as simple as downloading it and adding it to your operating system, and Java has an installer for you to do so as well!

Once you’ve downloaded the JDK installer onto your laptop, the next step is to install it instead. You have two options for installing JDK, manually and automatically. If you’re planning to manually install JDK, we recommend you familiarise yourself with downloading binaries, extracting them, and then adding them to the path.

From there, you can compile and create a Java program at your will!

Frequently Asked Questions

We often receive quite a few questions about JDK in Java and how to use it. We’ve compiled the most common questions and answered them here for you to read. Otherwise, we’ve written other articles for you to check out like how to choose a laptop for photo editing and if a 1440p monitor resolution is worth it for gaming.

What are the 4 components of JDK?

Great questions! The four main components of development tools offered by Java in the private Java Virtual Machine are the following: an interpreter/loader such as Java, a compiler like Javac, an archiver like Jar, and a document generator like Javadoc.

If you’re looking at what are the main components of JDK & JVM, these are the main ones! You can use these 4 components to see if your Alienware Aurora 2019 is performing well using the best performance testing tools.

What is the JDK concept and its purpose?

The main concept of JDK is to provide a collection of tools to build and develop Java applications. You can use JDK as a software environment tool, which then allows Java Runtime Environment to run the application and source code.

Why do I need a JDK?

You need JDK not only to develop the source code that your Java application is running but also to convert source code into a readable format for Java Runtime Environment.

You also can’t create and develop Java applications without JDK, so it’s extremely important when looking at the Java development kit as a whole.

Parting Shot/Conclusion

Hopefully, this has given you a solid foundation for developing java based software using Java Development Kit, especially with how JDK integrates with the rest of Java.

If you’re interested in our other articles, make sure to check out how to use a tablet monitor or our tips for using a tablet for your business.