JDK

Technology & Computing abbreviation · Programming

JDK stands for Java Development Kit, a programming abbreviation.

The package developers install to build Java applications, containing the javac compiler, the Java runtime, standard libraries and tools such as the jar packager and debugger. Distributions include Oracle JDK and free OpenJDK builds such as Eclipse Temurin and Amazon Corretto.

Example: The build requires JDK 21; set JAVA_HOME before running Gradle.

Usage notes

Java ships a new release every six months, with long-term support versions such as 8, 11, 17, 21 and 25 used in most production systems. Oracle's 2019 licensing change pushed many companies toward free OpenJDK-based builds. Since Java 11 there is no separate runtime download, so the JDK is the standard install.

Related abbreviations

More programming abbreviations

• i18n – Internationalization
• IDE – Integrated development environment
• IIFE – Immediately invoked function expression
• IoC – Inversion of control
• IPC – Inter-process communication
• J2EE – Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition
• JIT – Just-in-time
• JRE – Java Runtime Environment
• JSON – JavaScript Object Notation
• JVM – Java Virtual Machine
• KISS – Keep it simple, stupid
• l10n – Localization

See all 154 programming abbreviations →

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