First, to clarify some terms you mentioned John:
- Java is a programming language that was invented, partly, so that programs could be portable across different operating systems and architectures without having to re-write large portions of the program. So, the JVM was created as a specification that tells us how we can run machine-independent code (in this case called "bytecode") and thus create machine-independent programs.
- The JRE is an environment that provides the minimum amount of stuff that enables us to run a Java program. It contains an implementation of the JVM and assorted libraries and configuration files.
- The JDK is the development environment that contains compilers and debuggers, as well as the JVM and JRE, in order that normal-looking Java code can be compiled to machine-independent bytecode, in order to run on the JVM, in the JRE runtime environment.
So, JVM is the "engine" that runs the bytecode, JRE is the runtime environment required for us to run Java programs, and JDK is the development environment required to develop and compile Java programs.
The first step I would take is to see if your computer can "see" your Java installation.
Press the Windows key, and scroll down to 'Windows System' and select the Command Prompt. Alternatively, press the Windows key, and type 'cmd' (without the single quotes) and you should see the Command Prompt application icon appear in the menu, and you can click that to start it.
Now type:
Code: Select all
java -versionAnd you should get one of these two screenshots or similar:

Or this one:

(Continued in next post)...

