Do I need to install Java plugins for Eclipse Neon if I already have JDK and JRE installed?

0
votes

I've been using Eclipse Neon (4.6.0) which only supports C/C++ by default. Now that I need to program in Java, I want to integrate Java to the IDE I'm using. So I went to install the "Eclipse JDT Plug-in Developer Resources" Java plugin, including "Eclipse Java Development Tools."

But then, I have the JDK and JRE installed from Oracle very much prior to this day. Now I wonder...

  • Do I need to install the Eclipse Java plugins from Eclipse even if I already have the Java JDK and JRE installed in my computer?
    • If yes, then there must be a difference between the Eclipse JDK and Oracle's JDK. What's the difference?
    • If no, how can I link the JDK and JRE (if either/both is needed) to the project, such that I can finally program in Java?

Clear and concise answers are very much appreciated.

2
javaeclipseoracleeclipse-plugineclipse-neon

2 Answers

1
votes

TL;DR: Yes, you need the JDT plugin with your JDK

Long answer

There is no such thing as an Eclipse JDK, (albeit the SDK used for creating plugins but that's not what you want)

Eclipse needs at a minimum, the JRE to run itself. If you need to program in Java, you install the JDK.

As for the Eclipse JDT plugin, it is needed for making Eclipse ready for Java development (necessary things like the Java perspective for example)

Cheers!

0
votes

The JRE is the Java Runtime. You need it to run Eclipse.

The JDK are the command-line tools to compile Java code. Eclipse has a compiler and most of those tools re-implemented in it "Java Development Tools", so you don't need a JDK to start coding. However, you might need some of its features later, but not worth caring about it right now.

Eclipse Java Development Tools plugin provides the main tools inside the IDE to develop Java code. The Java Editor -providing completion, documentation, navigation, instant error reporting...- and Java Debugger are the 2 main ones. If you want to be productive at writing and debugging Java code, you need to install those into your IDE. Otherwise, it won't be much better than a plain text editor.