In Chapter 1, Planning a Blackboard Learn Instance, we discussed that Blackboard Learn runs on Tomcat, which uses Java to create the pages that users will see on their browser. Many times we hear the term Java being used in a variety of different places; in a discussion about desktops and laptops, servers, or even some electronic devices. So let's take a moment to understand what type of Java affects us and our Blackboard Learn environment. Java Runtime Environment (JRE) will normally be found installed on your desktop or laptop. It allows Java applets to run within a browser or a Java application on your device. JDK helps to create and compile Java applets.
Blackboard Learn can be very specific about which version of Java it uses, and most operating systems don't include the correct version of Java during the operating-system installation. Because of this, we will install JDK, which allows Blackboard Learn to create the pages and files we need.
First we must download the JDK...