Java Faqs - What is the difference between jre and java?

They are functionally equivalent, with minor differences in the handling of default classpath and options supported. To reduce confusion, the jre command was removed in JDK 1.2. Instead there is a "java" command in both bin and jre/bin.jre.exe is the java launcher that comes with the Java Runtime Environment. It ignores the CLASSPATH environment setting in favor of its own internally generated default and whatever is supplied on the cmd line using -cp or -classpath. It's intended to be a bit simpler for those who are only ever running Java programs, not developing them.java.exe is the java launcher that comes with the JDK. It uses the CLASSPATH environment setting as a starting point and then tacks on its own internally generated entries.They both serve the same purpose and that's to start a Java VM, have it run a Java application, then terminate. The source for jre.exe is provided in the JDK. The source to java.exe is provided only in the JDK Source distribution.
By
Shantan Nethikar