What is JDK?

The JDK stands for ‘Java Development Kit’, which is like a toolkit or a package full of tools for people who want to create Java applications. JDK provides tools, utilities, and libraries to develop, compile, debug whenever it’s needed and run the Java applications and applets. For example: A developer starts with writing a Java source code, then the developer executes the code whereas the JDK compiles code into the bytecode, and then finally executes it on the JVM (Java Virtual Machine). Basically, at the core of JDK is the Java compiler that is ‘javac’ as when you write a program it’s human-readable known as source code, the ‘javac’ compiler translates the source code into the bytecode, and the ‘.class’ file is created, then it runs on JVM which interpret of compiles your translated bytecode at runtime.

Beyond the compiler and JVM, the JDK comes with a variety of tools to aid in the Java development process. This includes the debugger ‘jdb’ to fix the errors, and the ‘.jar’ is created, it’s the executable file of Java that bundles the different Java files together into one package for easy sharing and use. Just like you zip multiple documents into one folder, jar does that for Java files. JDK holds the entire environment for developing robots and portable Java applications. So, let’s jump in and discover what JDK 21 holds the new features in.

Hey, Java enthusiasts and learners! Java is the most trending language in the world, which attracts the population or you can say Java techies towards its simplicity and its super features with vast functionalities. So to make the development more interesting for Java developers, Java is again here with its evolving new features and functionalities. Imagine if we never updated our gadgets, we’d still have big old phones, heavy computers with fewer functions, as well as slow web connections.

So, just like we updated our devices, Java also needs to be updated for a better experience by adding more and more features making it more vast. Java is known for its platform independence, portability, and its robustness, here Java once again rolled out a new version of JDK 21. Now, if you’re imagining the complicated terms and complex explanations, worry not! In this article, we’re going to explore Java 21 in the simplest way possible, you will get a clarification in an easier way for both beginners and seasoned coders to understand well.