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Java Development Kit

The Java Development Kit (JDK) is a distribution of Java technology by Oracle
Corporation. It implements the Java Language Specification (JLS) and the Java Virtual Java Development Kit
Machine Specification (JVMS) and provides the Standard Edition (SE) of the Java Developer(s) Oracle Corporation
Application Programming Interface (API). It is derivative of the community driven Stable release 24.0.2 / 15 July 2025[1]
OpenJDK which Oracle stewards.[5] It provides software for working with Java Written in Java, C++, C, Assembly[2]
applications. Examples of included software are the Java virtual machine, a compiler,
Operating system Windows, macOS, Linux
performance monitoring tools, a debugger, and other utilities that Oracle considers
useful for Java programmers. Platform AArch64, x86-64
License Oracle No-Fee Terms and
Oracle releases the current version of the software under the Oracle No-Fee Terms and Conditions (NFTC)[3] with
Conditions (NFTC) license. Oracle releases binaries for the x86-64 architecture for third party components[4]
Windows, macOS, and Linux based operating systems, and for the aarch64 architecture
Website oracle.com/java/technologies/
for macOS and Linux. Previous versions supported the Oracle Solaris operating system
(https://www.oracle.com/java/
and SPARC architecture.
technologies/)
Oracle's primary implementation of the JVMS is known as the HotSpot (virtual
machine).

JDK contents
The JDK has as its primary components a collection of programming tools, including:

appletviewer – this tool can be used to run and debug Java applets without a web browser
apt – the annotation-processing tool[6]
extcheck – a utility that detects JAR file conflicts
idlj – the IDL-to-Java compiler. This utility generates Java bindings from a given Java IDL file.
jabswitch – the Java Access Bridge. Exposes assistive technologies on Microsoft Windows systems.

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java – the loader for Java applications. This tool is an interpreter and can interpret the class files generated by the javac compiler.
Now a single launcher is used for both development and deployment. The old deployment launcher, jre, no longer comes with Sun
JDK, and instead it has been replaced by this new java loader.
javac – the Java compiler, which converts source code into Java bytecode
javadoc – the documentation generator, which automatically generates documentation from source code comments
jar – the archiver, which packages related class libraries into a single JAR file. This tool also helps manage JAR files.
javafxpackager – tool to package and sign JavaFX applications
jarsigner – the jar signing and verification tool
javah – the C header and stub generator, used to write native methods
javap – the class file disassembler
javaws – the Java Web Start launcher for JNLP applications
JConsole – Java Monitoring and Management Console
jdb – the debugger
jhat – Java Heap Analysis Tool (experimental)
jinfo – This utility gets configuration information from a running Java process or crash dump. (experimental)
jmap Oracle jmap – Memory Map (http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/tools/share/jmap.html)– This utility outputs the
memory map for Java and can print shared object memory maps or heap memory details of a given process or core dump.
(experimental)
jmc – Java Mission Control
jpackage – a tool for generating self-contained application bundles. (experimental)
jps – Java Virtual Machine Process Status Tool lists the instrumented HotSpot Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) on the target system.
(experimental)
jrunscript – Java command-line script shell.
jshell – a read–eval–print loop, introduced in Java 9.
jstack – utility that prints Java stack traces of Java threads (experimental)
jstat – Java Virtual Machine statistics monitoring tool (experimental)
jstatd – jstat daemon (experimental)
keytool – tool for manipulating the keystore
pack200 – JAR compression tool
policytool – the policy creation and management tool, which can determine policy for a Java runtime, specifying which permissions
are available for code from various sources.
VisualVM – visual tool integrating several command-line JDK tools and lightweight performance and memory profiling capabilities
(no longer included in JDK 9+)
wsimport – generates portable JAX-WS artifacts for invoking a web service.

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xjc – Part of the Java API for XML Binding (JAXB) API. It accepts an XML schema and generates Java classes.
Experimental tools may not be available in future versions of the JDK.

The JDK also comes with a complete Java Runtime Environment (JRE), usually called a private runtime, due to the fact that it is
separated from the "regular" JRE and has extra contents. It consists of a Java virtual machine and all of the class libraries present in the
production environment, as well as additional libraries only useful to developers, such as the internationalization libraries and the IDL
libraries.

Copies of the JDK also include a wide selection of example programs demonstrating the use of almost all portions of the Java API.

Other JDKs
In addition to the most widely used JDK discussed in this article, there are other JDKs commonly available for a variety of platforms,
some of which started from the Sun JDK source and some that did not. All adhere to the basic Java specifications, but often differ in
explicitly unspecified areas, such as garbage collection, compilation strategies, and optimization techniques. They include:

In development or in maintenance mode:

Azul Systems Zing, low latency JDK for Linux;[7]

Azul Systems / OpenJDK-based Zulu for Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, embedded and the cloud;[8]
OpenJDK / IcedTea;
Aicas JamaicaVM;
IBM J9 JDK, for AIX, Linux, Windows, MVS, OS/400, Pocket PC, z/OS;[9]
Not being maintained or discontinued:

Apache Harmony;
Apple's Mac OS Runtime for Java JVM/JDK for Classic Mac OS;[10]
Blackdown Java – Port of Sun's JDK for Linux;[11][12]
GNU's Classpath and GCJ (The GNU Compiler for Java);
Oracle Corporation's JRockit JDK, for Windows, Linux, and Solaris;[13]

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See also
Classpath Free and open-
Java platform source software
portal
Java version history
Computer
programming portal

References
1. "Java™ SE Development Kit 24.0.2 (JDK 24.0.2)" (https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/24-0-2-relnotes.html). Oracle
Corporation. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
2. "Based on the OpenJDK sources" (https://github.com/openjdk/jdk). OpenJDK. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
3. "Oracle No-Fee Terms and Conditions License" (https://www.oracle.com/downloads/licenses/no-fee-license.html). Oracle
Corporation. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
4. "Licensing Information User Manual" (https://www.oracle.com/a/tech/docs/jdk17-lium.pdf) (PDF). Oracle Corporation. Retrieved
23 October 2021.
5. "OpenJDK FAQ" (https://web.archive.org/web/20211207090911/https://openjdk.java.net/faq/). OpenJDK. Archived from the original
(https://openjdk.java.net/faq/) on 7 December 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
6. "JDK 5.0 Java Annotation Processing Tool (APT)-related APIs & Developer Guides -- from Sun Microsystems" (http://download.oracl
e.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/apt/index.html). Retrieved 5 August 2012.
7. "Azul Zing product page" (http://www.azulsystems.com/products/zing/whatisit).
8. "Azul Zulu download page" (http://www.azulsystems.com/products/zulu/downloads).
9. "developerWorks : IBM developer kits : Downloads" (http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/). Retrieved 5 August 2012.
10. "Support at Apple" (https://web.archive.org/web/20071213085940/http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120209). Archived
from the original (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120209) on 13 December 2007.
11. "Java Linux Contact Information" (https://web.archive.org/web/20070807032743/http://www.blackdown.org/java-linux/java-linux-cont
act.html). Archived from the original (http://www.blackdown.org/java-linux/java-linux-contact.html) on 7 August 2007. Retrieved
5 August 2012.
12. "Java-Linux Latest Information" (https://web.archive.org/web/19961019171456/http://www.blackdown.org/java-linux/Information.htm
l). Archived from the original (http://www.blackdown.org/java-linux/Information.html) on 19 October 1996. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
13. "JRockit Family Download page" (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/jrockit/downloads/index.html). Retrieved 5 August
2012.

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External links
Oracle Java SE (https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/)
Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap (https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/eol-135779.html)
Open source OpenJDK project (https://openjdk.java.net/)
OpenJDK builds from Oracle (https://jdk.java.net/)
OpenJDK builds from AdoptOpenJDK (https://adoptopenjdk.net/)
IBM Java SDK Downloads (https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/java-sdk-downloads)
Open source JDK 7 project (https://web.archive.org/web/20070610111552/https://jdk7.dev.java.net/)
GNU Classpath (https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/) – a Free software JDK alternative

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