java -version showing different version than in path

Question

I have jdk12 and jdk8 on my computer installed. Usually jdk12 is set in the path. To run some java programs I had set path to jdk8 . Now after changing the path back to /jdk-12.0.1/bin , running java -version on cmd still returns

java version "1.8.0_251"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_251-b08)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.251-b08, mixed mode)

Answer 1

I decided to assemble my comments to an answer:

When calling java on the command line, the OS only uses the PATH environment variable to look for the command. The variable JAVA_HOME is not used here.

So you simply should examine the PATH variable: The directory C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Oracle\Java\javapath is added to the PATH by the JDK installer. I would suggest to remove it, so you have better control what directories are part of the PATH .

Answer 2

If you have multiple Java installed, create the JAVA_HOME variable and give the JAVA path which you want to use. Use only this JAVA_HOME variable in the PATH variable.

If you wish to change the default Java, change only the JAVA_HOME variable pointing to the required JAVA.

This way, only one JAVA (which is required) will be present in PATH . Remove all other JAVA references in the PATH variable.

Also, whenever you change the JAVA_HOME value, open a new terminal (command prompt) to verify this change.

Note: If the path contains spaces, use the shortened path name. For example, C:\Progra~1\Java\jdk1.8.0_65