Java 8 is the last free software public update for commercial use, which explains why it remains popular. You can download the version you need below: Java 8, Java 11 and Java 17 are the three long-term support versions recommended by Oracle. However, many versions of Java are actively maintained for compatibility purposes. The latest version of Java is Java 20 or JDK 20 released on March, 2023. It is capable of creating and compiling programs. It has everything the JRE has, but also the compiler (javac) and tools (like javadoc and jdb). The JDK is the Java Development Kit, the full-featured SDK for Java.