Multiple Version of J2SE Updates on Windows

At some point I got into my Windows Add/Remove programs and noticed around 5 versions of Java’s J2SE Runtime Environment Update. Each version is listed as so:

J2SE Runtime Environment #.# Update #

Each of these average around 120MB, and that’s a lot of disk space.

Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) provides a complete environment for applications development on desktops and servers and for deployment in embedded environments. It also serves as the foundation for the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and Java Web Services.

Here’s a a link form Java’s FAQ page regarding removal:

http://java.com/en/download/faq/5000070400.xml

The link above from Java reads:

The latest version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) contains updates to previous versions. There might be some applications or applets written and tested against a specific version of the JRE.

It is recommended that you keep older versions of the JRE on your system. If you are running low on disk space, you can uninstall older versions of the JRE.

Which links to the uninstallation instructions:

http://java.com/en/download/help/5000010800.xml

In the end, I believe it’s allright to remove a number of the updates. You’re much better off, making sure you have the latest version, bypassing the need for the updates alltogether.

I must note, this particular post should be treated as a personal post by the author. I really shouldn’t be commenting on Windows and Java’s software.

Post written by Ed Reckers

Founder and lead web development consultant at Red Bridge Internet : San Francisco WordPress Developers and Consultants.

Leave a Reply