Last updated: October 22, 2017
Java is a programming language originally developed by Sun Microsystems. Java 1.0 was first publicly released in 1995. Oracle Corporation became the steward of Java technology when it acquired Sun Microsystems in 2009. Java 8 is the current version of Java, released in March, 2014. Java 9 is scheduled for release in 2017. With the release of Java 9, the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) will no longer support the Java web browser plug-in. At that time, Java content (such as Java applets) will no longer run within a web browser. Instead, Java Web Start will be used to download and run Java content locally on your computer.
Oracle maintains a Java archive to assist developers in debugging issues that may exist in older systems. If you are a developer seeking to download previous Java releases, the Oracle Java Archive offers self-service access to some of Oracle’s historic Java versions. Developers can choose from Java Standard Edition (SE) 1.1 to Java SE 8. Archival downloads are also available for Java Enterprise Edition (EE), Java Micro Edition (ME) and JavaFX, and more.
Please keep in mind that these older versions of the JRE and JDK are not updated with the latest security patches. As such, they are not recommended for use in production. It is recommended to always download the latest version of Java. For security purposes, activate Java’s auto-update feature to ensure your computer has the latest Java version available.
Access to the archive requires a free Oracle account. A free Oracle account provides access to Oracle online applications and services, Oracle support, Oracle communities, and more. Even with an Oracle account, Oracle advises that only developers and Enterprise administrators download Java from the archives.
Thank you for visiting Tech Help Knowledgebase to learn how to locate the Oracle Java archive so you can download old Java versions.
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