Where can I get technical information about Java?

Visit the Oracle Technology Network Java web site and our online Java tutorials for complete technical details relating to the Java platform and all of its aspects.

What is the difference between the JRE and the Java SE platform?
JRE
(Java Runtime Environment)		 Java SE
(Java Platform, Standard Edition)
Who needs it? Computer users who run applets and applications written using Java technology Software developers who write applets and applications using Java technology
What is it? An environment required to run applets and applications written using the Java programming language A software development kit used to write applets and applications using the Java programming language
How do you get it? Distributed freely and is available from:
java.com		 Distributed freely and is available from:
oracle.com/javase
What is the difference between the JRE and the JDK ?
JRE
(Java Runtime environment)		 JDK
(Java Development Kit)
It is an implementation of the Java Virtual Machine* which actually executes Java programs. It is a bundle of software that you can use to develop Java based applications.
Java Runtime Environment is a plug-in needed for running java programs. Java Development Kit is needed for developing java applications.
The JRE is smaller than the JDK so it needs less Disk space. The JDK needs more Disk space as it contains the JRE along with various development tools.
The JRE can be downloaded/supported freely from
java.com		 The JDK can be downloaded/supported freely from
oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/
It includes the JVM , Core libraries and other additional components to run applications and applets written in Java. It includes the JRE, set of API classes, Java compiler, Webstart and additional files needed to write Java applets and applications.


What is Java Enterprise Edition (Java EE)?
Java EE is a platform-independent, Java-centric environment for developing, building and deploying Web-based enterprise applications online. Java EE includes many components of the Java Standard Edition (Java SE).The Java EE platform consists of a set of services, APIs, and protocols that provide the functionality for developing multitiered, Web-based applications.

Java EE simplifies application development and decreases the need for programming and programmer training by creating standardized, reusable modular components and by enabling the tier to handle many aspects of programming automatically.

If you are a enterprise developer you need Java EE. Enterprise developers need Java EE because writing distributed business applications is not easy, and they need a high-productivity solution that allows them to focus only on writing their business logic and having a full range of enterprise-class services to rely on, like transactional distributed objects, message oriented middleware, and naming and directory services.