The JRE creates the JVM and ensures dependencies are available to your programs. The JDK allows you to create Java programs that can be executed and run by the JVM and JRE.

In JDK 24, this capability was introduced to reduce the size of object headers in the HotSpot JVM from between 96 bits and 128 bits down to 64 bits on 64-bit architectures.

Originally launched in April 2024, Liberica JDK Performance Edition was built to give legacy Java applications a serious performance boost.