Installing IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition & new JDK
My software (authored by another) uses JDK 1.6 in an outdated IntelliJ IDEA. The author suggested that updating both JDK and IntelliJ might cause problems. Nevertheless, I'm planning to update IntelliJ. Am I correct in understanding that installing the modern version of IntelliJ along with its bundled JDK would result in replacing my outdated IntelliJ and installing a modern JDK alongside of the old JDK currently being used to compile the software? Am I also correct in believing that my current IntelliJ settings would automatically be imported into the new IntelliJ (i.e. the new IntelliJ would be configured to use the old JDK)? Finally, would not I be able to switch back & forth between compiling with the new JDK and the old? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Settings will be imported, compilation will be performed using your old JDK. Bundled JDK (JetBrains Runtime) is used for running IntelliJ IDEA itself, not to build and run your own projects.
Thanks Serge. So it's the JRE that's bundled with IntelliJ not a JDK. Can I install Java SE JDK 8 alongside my old JDK? Would I be correct in assuming that I should install jdk-8u121-windows-x64.exe, since most PC's today are 64 bit? If I compile with x64 and someone trys to run the software on a 32 bit computer, what happens?
Once I install the new JDK will I be able to switch back and forth in IntelliJ between compiling with the new and old JDKs?
In your experience, is it generally advisable to compile with the latest JDK?
> Can I install Java SE JDK 8 alongside my old JDK?
Yes.
> Would I be correct in assuming that I should install jdk-8u121-windows-x64.exe, since most PC's today are 64 bit?
If your system is 64-bit, you can install 64-bit JDK.
> If I compile with x64 and someone trys to run the software on a 32 bit computer, what happens?
Java compiler produces bytecode that doesn't depend on architecture. Your software will run the same no matter which JDK was used to compile it.
> Once I install the new JDK will I be able to switch back and forth in IntelliJ between compiling with the new and old JDKs?
Yes.
> In your experience, is it generally advisable to compile with the latest JDK?
Yes.
Thanks so much.