These letters specify the edition of Java you are using.

When you download Java, you'll often see different options for 'Java SE 7' or 'Java EE 8' While the number clearly indicates the version number, the letters tend to confuse newcomers. In this article, we discuss the relevant versions of Java available including key differences and the version that’s most appropriate for your needs. With all the different versions and editions to choose from, it can be difficult to know which version of Java is right for you. While both 9 and 10 have been released, neither will be offering LTS.Since it's first release in 1996, Java has maintained a reputation for being one of the most secure, reliable, and platform independent languages for computer programming.ĭespite its popularity, getting started with Java can be overwhelming. Java SE 11 OR 17 remains the preferred production standard in 2022. Java SE 11 was released in September 2018 and will be the next major version with long term support (LTS). For these reasons, LTS support editions are only recommendations for production releases including Java SE 8 and Java SE 11. BUT REMEMBER it will not offer long term support (LTS). Update (March 29, 2020): Java 14 is the latest stable release and shows promising new features. Update (February 15, 2021): Java 11 remains most recent version featuring long term support (LTS) while Java 15 offers promising new features. This leaves 3 versions offering LTS (8, 11, and now 17).

In 2022, the majority of applications are using Java 8+. While Java 17 offers LTS, it's certainly not unusual if your application is using 11 or even 8. It's important to note that even in 2022, many applications continue to run on Java 8 and Java 11.

Java 17 offers some cool new features that may be worth leveraging for your application.

That means it's the latest version of Java that will still release updates when newer versions are released later on. Why not take advantage of latest features?

Upgrading shouldn't be difficult when using Docker.

While most applications today are using Java 8 or 11, here are some reasons to consider upgrading to Java 17.

Update (June 23, 2022): Java 17 is the latest version of Java available offering long term support (LTS).

Jdk se development kit 8