A software program needs to execute, and to do that, it needs an environment to run in. In the past, most software used the operating system (OS) as the runtime environment.

Everyday definition: The JVM is how we run our Java programs. We configure the settings and then rely on the JVM to manage program resources during execution.

Now, open the Command Prompt and run it as administrator. We will make use of the ‘cd’ command to change the operating directory on the Command Prompt to the one where your Java program is stored.

The Java Runtime Environment provides a “container” for those elements and your code to run in. The JDK is the “compiler” that interprets the code itself and executes it.