Tools, Environment & Dependencies

Checking Your Java Version

It's possible you may already have Java installed, but it's important to check whether it is the correct version. To do so, you'll want to go to your terminal or shell and type java --version. If Java is installed on your machine, you should see something like the following:

$ java --version
openjdk 11.0.8 2020-07-14
OpenJDK Runtime Environment AdoptOpenJDK (build 11.0.8+10)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM AdoptOpenJDK (build 11.0.8+10, mixed mode)

Notice that the version shown here is 11.0.8. This is too old. Your Java installation needs to be version 14 or higher. If you do not have Java installed—or your Java version is less than 14—go ahead and install it using the link below.

JRE vs JKD

The output of java --version should include JDK, which stands for Java Development Kit. If the output does not have "JDK" in it, that means you probably only have the Java Runtime Environment (or JRE) installed. The JRE is needed to run Java programs, while the JDK is needed to compile Java programs. You will definitely will need to be able to compile your programs, so if you don't have the JDK installed, you'll need to go ahead and follow the steps below to install it now.