Add to favorites A quick and simple guide to working with Java.
As one of the most popular programming languages in the world, Java forms the building blocks for communicating instructions to many machines.
The general purpose high-level language which was developed by Sun Microsystems, now owned by Oracle, is relatively simple to get started with.
Getting started with the programming language a user will require three tools, a Java compiler, a Java Virtual Machine, and the Java API. These can be downloaded from the Oracle site, or by using tools that from a commercial product such as IBM WebSphere Studio Application Developer.
Bundles that include various tools can be downloaded such as the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), and the Software Development Kit (SDK).
The SDK bundle includes all three aforementioned tools and will allow you to create and run Java programs. The JRE bundle includes a Java Virtual Machine and the API, this bundle allows users to run existing Java programs but not create them.
