Installing the Java Development Kit
Introduction
Installing the Java Development Kit basically involves using three methods; installation using a .msi installer, an executable (.exe file) or a zipped (.zip) file.
The Java SE Development Kit (JDK) basically provides an environment for building applications and components using the Java Programming language. It provides the necessary tools for writing Java programs that are executed using the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and the Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
Installation using an Installer
1. To install the JDK to your windows machine, let us head over to Oracle’s official download page. While at the page, there are two versions of the JDK, 19 and 17, from which we can make our download.
2. We shall then choose the version with the latest long-term support and this is JDK 17. Scrolling down the page, we can also choose the JDK version depending on the operating system on which to install the kit – Linux, MacOs or Windows.
3. Choose windows, move to the downloads section. Here we have three options, x64 compressed archive (.zip file), x64 installer (the .exe file), x64 MSI installer (.msi file). Let us choose the x64 installer or x64 MSI installer and click the download link to install the executable or .msi file to your local machine. Just note where the file is stored.
4. Then move to the folder where you stored the downloaded executable file and double click to launch the installer. A dialog appears to allow the program to make changes to your computer. Just click yes to allow the operation.
5. Now, click Next for all the installer dialogs that appear. Make sure you note where the JDK is installed on your machine. For example: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-* It’s worth noting that you can also change your installation folder by clicking on the Change button when the dialog shown below appears.
6. Then, click Next to start the installation process. This takes some time. So you need to wait. The installation progress can be seen from the dialog
7. After the installing the JDK components, the installer then displays a message to inform us that the operation was successful. Just click Close and you are done.
Installation using a Zipped file
1. If a .zip file was downloaded from step 3 above, we shall move to the folder where the file was downloaded and extract or unzip it to a desired location. For example: C:\Program Files\jdk-18.0.1.1
2. Add the JAVA_HOME environment variable. To do this;
- Right click on Computer and select Properties
- Click on Advanced System Settings > Advanced
- Click on Environment Variables > New to add a new environment variable. A dialog appears where you add the JAVA_HOME variable whose value is the path to the JDK folder.
- Click Ok
3. Now, update the PATH variable by adding a new path in the list which is the path of the bin folder inside the JDK folder. To do this follow these simple steps;
- Select the PATH variable
- Then Click Edit, to open up a dialog where you will update the variable
- Now, just append the path (C:\Program Files\jdk-18.0.1.1\bin) to the end of the existing string with a semi-colon separating it from other paths, for example; “C:\xampp\php;C:\Program Files\jdk-18.0.1.1\bin”
- Then Click Ok and Apply all your changes.
Verify JDK (Java) Installation
To verify that the JDK has been installed successfully on your computer, open a new command prompt and type in the following command:
C:\>java -version
If the JDK or Java was successfully installed, the command prompt returns a message showing the installed java version, otherwise it emits an error complaining that it doesn’t recognize the system command entered. If an error exists, verify all the steps listed above.
Happy Coding !!!
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we have basically looked at installing, the Java Development Kit on a windows machine. Without this environment, developers can never create Java applications and thus its such an indispensable tool in Java programming, especially in developing device applications for the Android operating system.
