From the course: Learning Java 11

What is Java? - Java Tutorial

From the course: Learning Java 11

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What is Java?

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- [Instructor] Let's get started with Java. Java is a very commonly used programming language, and it is often the first language beginners learn. When we say "programming language," we do mean that it is an actual language, but we use it to talk to a computer. Just like a regular language, it has a vocabulary and a set of grammatical rules, so that it can communicate with the computer to complete certain tasks. With the Java programming language, software developers can create applications on a computer. What types of applications? Think web applications, mobile applications, desktop applications, web servers, embedded systems, and more. We call these applications Java programs, because they are built with the Java programming language. Chances are you've downloaded a program that requires the JRE, or Java Runtime Environment. This is what's needed to run Java programs, and it is often what you've installed in the past in order to run Java applications on your computer. You may not thought of them as Java applications back then, but anytime you were asked to install or update Java in order to run the application, they were indeed Java programs. So what's needed to build and develop a Java program? You need to install the JDK, or Java Development Kit. The Java Development Kit is a full-featured software development kit that includes everything from the JRE, as well as compilers, debuggers, and tools to create Java programs. This means we can just install the JDK, or Java Development Kit, and we get the JRE, or Java Runtime Environment, automatically. So let's get the JDK installed.

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