Java Runtime Environment
Publisher: Sun Microsystems
Java software allows you to run applications called "applets" that are written in the Java programming language. These applets allow you to play online games, chat with people around the world, calculate your mortgage interest, and view images in 3D.
A JRE is required to run Java applications interpretively on a target hardware and operating system platform, since Java applications are not in machine code. Many applications for which a degree of portability is important are written in Java, and some Web pages use Java as well. (Java should not be confused with Javascript, which is much more widespread on the Web and is interpreted directly by Web browsers, without the need for a runtime environment.)
