I see JRE all over the place, but i can not be sure which JDK is compiling my code. How do i find out?
You can still check/set which JDK version you want to compile to. If you go to Window->Preferences, then click "Java" from the menu on the left and then "Compiler". The first setting allows you to see which JDK version is being complied with.
I know this doesn't directly answer your question since JDK isn't actually compiling it, but hopefully it helps!
Actually Eclipse has its own compiler. You can develop java apps using only the JRE and Eclipse
You don't find JDK explicitly mentioned anywhere because way to point to a JDK is under the name of 'Installed JRE'. That is Window > Preferences > Java > Installed JREs. This is useful when using m2e plugin.
secondly apart from having it's own built in compiler, it is recommended to you install one of your own to support development of Java programs. Except below from eclipse wiki page :
If you intend to use Eclipse for Java development, then you should install a JDK
Related
I recently downloaded Eclipse onto a Windows 7 machine. The machine already had a JRE but I noticed it didn't have a JDK. I was afraid I would have to download the JDK and then hook Eclipse up to it. I was (pleasanly) surprised when I was able to code, compile and run in Eclipse right out of the box. However, now I'm confused. From what I know about Java, Eclipse should need a JDK to compile code and a JRE to execute it.
The best I can think of is...
Eclipse is packaged with a JDK (if this is true, I can't find the JDK on my computer)
I'm way out in left field and don't understand JDKs as well as I thought I did.
Admittedly more of a curiosity question, why am I able to compile java without a JDK?
Eclipse has an internal compiler for some time now. Several years ago it needed a JDK but for now a JRE will suffice.
However if you want to browse or debug in the Java source code, a JDK is better.
I've just installed Eclipse, after i installed the java JDK.
The Getting Started guide (in Eclipse) says i should reference my JDK installation in Window>Preferences>Java>Installed JREs, but that a JRE would also work.
Select the Java > Installed JREs preference page to display the installed Java Runtime Environments. Confirm that a JRE has been detected. By default, the JRE used to run the workbench will be used to build and run Java programs. It should appear with a checkmark in the list of installed JREs. We recommend that you use a Java SDK instead of a JRE. An SDK is designed for development and contains the source code for the Java library, easing debugging.
There was already a JRE set up there (not a JDK), so i did nothing and tried to compile a Hello World (just to see what would happen). To my surprise, it compiled!
I searched a little bit and it looks like this works because Eclipse has a built-in Java Compiler. I tried debugging using the same eclipse set up, and it was also successful.
So, what is the difference between setting a JDK and JRE there? Why is it important to download the JDK, since in my default configuration Eclipse doesn't seem to use it?
Probably the main difference is you get the source to all of the Java runtime libraries (with the JDK) which can be a big help. I always use the JDKs for that reason.
Also if you are debugging, this will allow you to meaningfully step into Java runtime libraries.
There are a number of tools that come with the JDK that don't come with the JRE - JConsole (http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/J2SE/jconsole.html) springs to mind. This for example can help you understand & monitor the memory usage of your application and so on. Either way if you head into unfamiliar territory, I highly recommend you follow the Eclipse suggestion and use the JDK!
JDK is equipped with different helpful tools, as DotMasta mentioned. Eclipse's "version" of JDK is called JDT. Apart from range of shipped tools, there are also differences between javac and Eclipse built-in compiler ecj, so check here to see the comparison. One of the most important differences is that javac is strict, i.e. with ecj you can create a class file even in case of errors in code, which is perfectly suitable for testing phase, but not for launch :)
JDK contains software development tools which are used to compile and run the Java program.
Plenty of classes and methods in standard jdk library
Javac java compiler
Diffrences and why you will need this?
JDK includes the JVM, standard class libraries, and several other tools that a developer needs in order to create a Java program.
JRE includes the JVM, as the JRE provides some standard libraries and the JVM which can be used to execute a Java program.
You can even look there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_Development_Kit
I'm not sure if this question has been answered in full or if my title is descriptive enough given my situation, but I've been asked to convert a project from being built with Ant to Maven. That part isn't too bad, but I've been told that this application was designed specifically for the JRE version 1.5 rather than the JRE 6 everything else I've been dealing with uses. Now, I'm incredibly new to Eclipse and Java themselves, so I was a bit confused when I was asked to tell either Eclipse or Maven to build this particular project using the JRE 1.5 instead. I have it installed, I believe, and I've tried to follow the steps outlined here: ( Eclipse: Build and conform to different JRE versions ), but I've run into a snag.
I've managed to change the Run Configuration to use the Alternate JRE jre1.5.0_11. When I then tried to build it, the console spat out the following:
[ERROR] Unable to locate the Javac Compiler in:
[ERROR] C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre1.5.0_11\..\lib\tools.jar
[ERROR] Please ensure you are using JDK 1.4 or above and
[ERROR] not a JRE (the com.sun.tools.javac.Main class is required).
[ERROR] In most cases you can change the location of your Java
[ERROR] installation by setting the JAVA_HOME environment variable.
I assume this means that I need to be using the JDK 1.5 in order to use the JRE 1.5, since I'm currently working with JDK 1.6. Now, is there a way to install the JDK 1.5 so that this project can use it? My JAVA_HOME variable currently points to the JDK 1.6, and I would like it to stay that way... Is there a way to be able to use both and simply tell the project (or Eclipse or Maven... however it works) to use a specific version of the JDK?
Yes, this is possible. You can install as many different versions of Java — JREs and JDKs — as you like, and tell Eclipse which one to use for each project.
First step is to install the JDK 1.5 on your machine (JDK is short for 'Java [SE] Development Kit', look for that on the Oracle download site). The JDK includes a JRE, so to make life easier you can usually just install the JDK and not worry about the JRE/JDK distinction.
Second step is to tell Eclipse about the new JDK. Go to Preferences... then Java > Installed JREs. Click the Search... button and Eclipse should find your newly installed JDK 1.5 and add it to the list.
Final step is to allocate that JDK 1.5 to your project. Bring up the Properties menu for your project (right-click it). Then set these values:
Java Compiler tab
Tick Enable project specific settings
Set Compiler Compliance level to 1.5
Java Build Path tab, Libraries subtab
Find the JRE System Library item, click Edit...
Set Alternate JRE to your newly installed JDK 1.5
It looks like you are using JRE 1.5 rather than JDK 1.5
Make sure you download the JDK 1.5 and your issue should go away. You can set the default JDK in the preferences, search for 'jre'.
Projects can also define their specific jre
Get JDK 1.5 from Here http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javasebusiness/downloads/java-archive-downloads-javase5-419410.html
I have two JRE in my system. One is 32-bit and the other one 64-bit. In Eclipse I can configure both and choose which one to use when running my application.
I'm wondering if I can do the same thing in Netbeans. I've tried to go to Project Properties, Libraries and then tried to configure a new JRE there, through Manage Platforms, but it doesn't accept the directory of my JRE. How should I proceed?
Be aware that I'm talking about JRE, and not JDK ;)
EDIT: I managed to make it work by downloading a new 32-bit JDK and selecting its directory. I still couldn't make it accept a JRE directory.
Whether or not you can run Netbeans with just the JRE depends on what bundle you have downloaded. In Netbeans 7 only C/C++ and PHP bundles can be run with the JRE.
Older versions of Netbeans include more languages under this JRE umbrella, but the principle is the same.
The JDK contains the JRE plus tools to debug and compile code, so if you're doing anything Java based apart from just running the IDE, netbeans depends on the JDK.
I have downloaded eclipse 3.1.2 to be able to make use of a particular library (Indus - http://indus.projects.cis.ksu.edu/). Under the 'Create a java project' dialog, the JDK section is automatically set to 1.4, which is fine. However, I don't have jdk 1.4 installed on my machine. Is it included with Eclipse 3.1.2? Also when I right click on the project and go to 'Properties' and select 'Java build Path', the jre is set to jre 6. Should this not be a jre suitable for java 1.4? Could someone also explain to me exactly what the jre is and how it ties in with the jdk?
Related question
You should be able to find older jdk's or jre's (like here). If you compile the Eclipse project for a certain version, newer jre's should be able to run them too.