Java SE v.s. Java EE
Java Programming Language Platforms
- Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE)
- Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE)
- Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME)
- JavaFX
All Java platforms consist of a Java Virtual Machine (VM) and an application programming interface (API).
- The Java Virtual Machine is a program, for a particular hardware and software platform, that runs Java technology applications.
- An API is a collection of software components that you can use to create other software components or applications.
Java SE
Java SE's API provides the core functionality of the Java programming language. It defines everything from the basic types and objects of the Java programming language to high-level classes.
In addition to the core API, the Java SE platform consists of a virtual machine, development tools, deployment technologies, and other class libraries and toolkits commonly used in Java technology applications.
Java EE
The Java EE platform is built on top of the Java SE platform. The Java EE platform provides an API and runtime environment for developing and running large-scale, multi-tiered, scalable, reliable, and secure network applications.
Java ME
The Java ME platform provides an API and a small-footprint virtual machine for running Java programming language applications on small devices, like mobile phones. The API is a subset of the Java SE API, along with special class libraries useful for small device application development.
JavaFX
JavaFX is a platform for creating rich internet applications using a lightweight user-interface API.