我们是否需要为Java更新设置Windows环境变量？

Question

I've been setting Windows environment variables (like JAVA_HOME ) every time I installed a Java update. (As per Environment variables for java installation ).

However, I've recently noticed that Java updates add C:\\ProgramData\\Oracle\\Java\\javapath; to the System Path (not the User Path). I removed JAVA_HOME , etc from my User Path, and java -version seems to work from any directory.

Does that mean that it is not necessary to do that simple but annoying task with each Java update?

Answer 1

That depends on what you are trying to do.

Generally, you don't need JAVA_HOME to run a Java app. Adding the location of the Java binaries to the PATH is sufficient for Windows to find and execute them.

However, eg a lot of application servers like Tomcat and build tools like Gradle will use JAVA_HOME to determine the location of your Java installation.

Answer 2

Java itself does not use JAVA_HOME. Some third-party things like IDEs and Tomcat do. I've never set it as an environment variable in 20 years.

Answer 3

Personally, I don't even have JAVA_HOME set and I've been developing at this company for 6 years now (and other companies for 10+ years). To me, it tends to get in the way. The last install sets the windows path which generally isn't what my IDE's, Tomcat, JBoss or SOAP-UI support so I just edit all their startup files to choose/set the JAVA_HOME they work with.