- Test the java version
- Method 1: Ask Java
- How to Check Java Version on Mac or Windows
- Check Java Version on Mac
- Option 1: Check Java Version on Mac Using the GUI
- Option 2: Check Java Version on Mac Using the Terminal
- Check Java Version on Windows
- Option 1: Check Java Version on Windows Using GUI
- Option 2: Check Java Version on Windows Using Command Line
- Test the java version
- Method 1: Ask Java
- How to Check Java Version
- About Java
- Versions of Java
- Test the java version
- How to switch Java version
- Java version history
- JDK 14: New hot Features
Test the java version
—>What Version of Java Are You Using?
On a computer with multiple web browsers, be sure to check the Java version in every browser. I say this because multiple copies of Java can sometimes be installed with different browsers using different copies. Also, Java can be enabled in one browser and disabled in another.
Note: The portion of Java that runs programs is referred to as either the Java Run-time Environment (JRE) or the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Method 1: Ask Java
This is my favorite — straight from the horse’s mouth (so to speak). The Java Run-time Environment is aware of its version and the company that authored it. So I wrote a very simple applet (the source code is on the About page) that gets this information from the JRE and displays it in a pink rectangle.
If Java is working, you will see a pink rectangle above with one line of text that says something like:
Java Version 1.8.0_25 from Oracle Corporation or
Java Version 1.7.0_67 from Oracle Corporation or
Java Version 1.6.0_45 from Sun Microsystems Inc. or
Java Version 1.6.0_33 from Apple Inc.
In part this is because the applet is unsigned. In the Bizarro world of Oracle, unsigned applets are treated as more dangerous than signed applets. This is backwards for two reasons. First, unsigned applets run in a restricted Java sandbox whereas signed applets are given unrestricted access to the system. Yes, the sandbox has been buggy and broken, but some security is better than none. Second, it shows a faith in the Certificate Authority system that is unwarranted.
Java on Mac Computers
The rest of this topic is a bit dated, so it has been suppressed by default.
At times Java on OS X was complicated as Java 6 came from Apple and Java 7 came from Oracle.
For many years this page had eight other methods of determining the installed version of Java.
But the page got really big, so they are no longer shown by default. But, they are still available:
Website created and maintained by Michael Horowitz mh _at_ javatester.org
Java and JavaScript are trademarks of Oracle in the US and other countries. This site is independent of Oracle.
How to Check Java Version on Mac or Windows
Java runs many of the applications that we use daily. Many applications cannot run on older versions of Java. Hence, it is essential to know which version is installed on your system.
In this tutorial, learn how to check the Java version on your Mac or Windows system.
- A system running macOS or Windows
- Access to the command-line/terminal window
- A version of Java installed
Check Java Version on Mac
You can find the version of Java on macOS by:
- using the GUI (Mac’s System Preferences)
- prompting for the version in the terminal window
Option 1: Check Java Version on Mac Using the GUI
To check the Java version on Mac without using the terminal by searching for the Java Control Panel in the System Preferences.
1. Click the Apple icon in the menu bar to open the drop-down menu and navigate to System Preferences.
2. A new window opens with various icons and settings. Find and click the Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
3. Once the Java Control Panel opens, click the About button. A new window with Java version information should appear.
Option 2: Check Java Version on Mac Using the Terminal
If you prefer using the terminal, checking the Java version is a simple one-command process.
1. First, open the terminal. To do so, click the Spotlight Search button in the top-right of the screen.
2. Type terminal in the search bar and open it by clicking on the icon in the search results.
3. Once in the command line, run the command: java -version . The output should display the Java version installed on your MacOS.
To check the version of the primary Java compiler – javac (pronounced “java-see”) use the command:
Note: If you have a Linux system, refer to How To Check Java Version Installed On Linux.
Check Java Version on Windows
To check the Java version on a Windows computer, you can use:
Option 1: Check Java Version on Windows Using GUI
To find the Java version on your Windows without opening a terminal window, use the Control Panel.
1. Open the Windows menu in the bottom-left corner and type control panel in the search bar.
2. Find the Control Panel in the search results and click the icon to open it.
3. Move to the Programs directory.
4. Find and click the Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
5. Once the control panel opens, click the About button.
6. The About Java window should appear and display the Java version on your computer.
Option 2: Check Java Version on Windows Using Command Line
Another option to find the Java version on Windows is through the command line.
1. Open the Windows Start menu in the bottom-left corner and type cmd in the search bar.
2. Then, open the Command Prompt once it appears in the search results.
3. A new window with the command prompt should appear. In it, type the command java -version and hit Enter. The output should display the Java version installed on your Windows system.
You can also check the version of the Java’s primary compiler, javac, with the command:
This article showed you how to check the version of Java installed on a macOS or Windows system.
Test the java version
—>What Version of Java Are You Using?
On a computer with multiple web browsers, be sure to check the Java version in every browser. I say this because multiple copies of Java can sometimes be installed with different browsers using different copies. Also, Java can be enabled in one browser and disabled in another.
Note: The portion of Java that runs programs is referred to as either the Java Run-time Environment (JRE) or the Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Method 1: Ask Java
This is my favorite — straight from the horse’s mouth (so to speak). The Java Run-time Environment is aware of its version and the company that authored it. So I wrote a very simple applet (the source code is on the About page) that gets this information from the JRE and displays it in a pink rectangle.
If Java is working, you will see a pink rectangle above with one line of text that says something like:
Java Version 1.8.0_25 from Oracle Corporation or
Java Version 1.7.0_67 from Oracle Corporation or
Java Version 1.6.0_45 from Sun Microsystems Inc. or
Java Version 1.6.0_33 from Apple Inc.
In part this is because the applet is unsigned. In the Bizarro world of Oracle, unsigned applets are treated as more dangerous than signed applets. This is backwards for two reasons. First, unsigned applets run in a restricted Java sandbox whereas signed applets are given unrestricted access to the system. Yes, the sandbox has been buggy and broken, but some security is better than none. Second, it shows a faith in the Certificate Authority system that is unwarranted.
Java on Mac Computers
The rest of this topic is a bit dated, so it has been suppressed by default.
At times Java on OS X was complicated as Java 6 came from Apple and Java 7 came from Oracle.
For many years this page had eight other methods of determining the installed version of Java.
But the page got really big, so they are no longer shown by default. But, they are still available:
Website created and maintained by Michael Horowitz mh _at_ javatester.org
Java and JavaScript are trademarks of Oracle in the US and other countries. This site is independent of Oracle.
How to Check Java Version
In today’s blog, we will be showing you how to check the Java version on Windows and macOS operating systems.
List of content you will read in this article:
Among all the programming languages, Java is considered to be the most commonly used language that has been adopted worldwide. There are numerous reasons why Java has gained popularity over other alternatives. There is no doubt that Java has been famous among all Fortune 500 companies and is widely recommended by developers. Its user-friendly and flexible nature makes it a go-to programming language for web developers and programmers.
The main reasons behind Java being popular is its fast speed, high-end security, and reliability. Along with such benefits, Java also offers private transmission, automatic memory management, and secure crucial information.
About Java
Introduced in the 1990s by James Gosling, Java is an object-oriented, robust, and secure programming language. The team started this Java project to develop a language suitable, especially for digital devices like set-top boxes, television, etc. At first, C++ was to be used in the Java project but was not considered for some reasons. Later, Gosling expanded C++ and led to another stage of a project Green, which was later renamed the ‘Greentalk’ project by Gosling and his team members. These project files had the file extension as .gt, which is later recognized as ‘OAK.’
The name ‘OAK’ was given to the project after an oak tree that was located outside Gosling’s office. But later on, the term ‘OAK’ was changed to Java. After various talks and brainstorming sessions, Gosling and his team come to multiple names- JAVA, DNA, SILK, BURY, etc. Still, they decided on JAVA after many discussions due to its uniqueness. This name (Java) comes up from a type of espresso bean. Gosling and his team members had come up with this name while having a cup of coffee near their office.
The main principles on which Java was built are- robust, portable, platform-independent, multi-thread, etc. In 1995, Java was recognized as one of the ten best products in Time magazine. Today, Java has been used in various fields like internet programming, mobile devices, games, etc. later, multiple versions of Java have been introduced over the years with new added features and functionalities.
Versions of Java
Over time, Java has introduced various versions with different and advanced features than the earlier version. Every version has fulfilled the drawback of their previous versions. Some of the versions are still supported, and some of them are not. Below is the list of all the Java versions introduced to date.
Support Until
Test the java version
You can find the Java installation path on Ubuntu using following command:
It will give path of Java installation directory, if you have multiple versions installed, then only the default Java version (set in your system) wll be displayed.
You can find the Java installation path on Ubuntu using following command:
It will give you Java installation path
How to switch Java version
You can have multiple installed versions of JDK on one machine. At any time, You can decide which Java version you want to make default version and should be used from command line automatically. The update-alternatives command is very helpful in switching between JDk versions, it will list all the installed Java versions. From that list, you can select which is the default version, you can want to keep.
sudo update-alternatives --config java
All available Java versions will be listed as shown below, with a sequence number. You can select any Java version using these sequence numbers. An Asterisk (*) mark shows that this Java version is currently being used as default version.
There are n choices for the alternative java (providing /usr/bin/java). Selection Path Priority Status ------------------------------------------------------------ 0 /usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64/bin/java 1111 auto mode * 1 /usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64/bin/java 1111 manual mode 2 /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre/bin/java 1081 manual mode 3 /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-oracle/jre/bin/java 1081 manual mode Press to keep current choice[*], or type selection number:
Java version history
The Java language has undergone several changes since JDK 1.0 also as numerous additions of classes and packages to the core library. The evolution of Java language has been governed by the JCP (Java Community Process), which uses JSRs (Java Specification Requests) to specify changes and propose changes, for additions to the Java.
In addition to the language semantics, lots of other changes have been made to the Class Libraries over the years, which has now grown from a couple of hundred classes to over three thousand. Entire new APIs, like Swing and Java2D, are introduced, and lots of of the first JDK 1.0 classes and methods are deprecated.
JDK 14: New hot Features
May 16, 2020