Java File Types and Related Tools

∟Java File Types and Related Tools

This section summarizes file types used to build Java applications and related tools to generate and manage these files.

Up to now, I have learned the following Java file types:

.java - Java source code files. Primary input files to the "javac" command.
.class - Java class bytecode files, generated by the "javac" command.
.jar - Java archive files in ZIP format, generated by the "jar" command.
.jmod - Java module files in ZIP format, generated by the "jmod" command.
.jimage - Java image files, generated by the "jlink" command and stored as "modules" files.

I have also learned the following tools to create and manage these types of files:

"javac", the Java Compiler - Compiles .java files into .class files.
"jar", the Java Archive Tool - Packages .class files into .jar files.
"jmod", the Java Module Tool - Packages .class files into .jmod files.
"jlink", the JRE Linker - Builds .jmod files into JRE .jimage files
"jimage", the JRE Image Tool - Lists and extracts .jimage file entries.
"java", the Java Launcher - Launches JVM to run Java programs using .jimage files.