Global JDK Management Capability Support

[tonycody]

Like when using JetBrains IDEA, the IDE provides the ability to manage JDKs globally, which allows developers to specify a uniform JDK version based on the set global JDKs regardless of what JetBrains plugin they are using, but in VSCode, each feature is supported as an extension, and each extension doesn't have a uniformly managed JDKs This is a headache for developers. Each extension has to set a JDK path, and there is no entry point that can be globally referenced. I'm not even sure what version of the JDK the extension is working with, and what version of the JDK is being used to compile the project. It's very confusing.

[rgrunber]

Have you tried https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vscjava.vscode-java-pack ? It should have a way to nicely configure your project JDK : https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/java/java-project#_configure-runtime-for-projects .

If you have a managed project (eg. Maven, Gradle, Eclipse-based). then the build files (pom.xml, build.gradle, .classpath, etc) will specify what the supported compile/runtime is. vscode-java will scan your system, and attempt to find a compatible version. You can modify this using the setting java.configuration.runtimes (this is what the above extension does), which maps an execution environment (eg. JavaSE-11 to the JDK that should be used when that environment is requested (eg. ~/.sdkman/candidates/java/11.0.25-tem/). There's also a property to configure what should be the default JDK when dealing with unmanaged projects.

If by "extension" you mean contributions to VS Code like "vscode-java", then you shouldn't have to worry about their runtime. The extension provides its own JRE on most platforms. There is an option to override that (java.jdt.ls.java.home) but most users wouldn't need to.

[tonycody]

Have you tried https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vscjava.vscode-java-pack ? It should have a way to nicely configure your project JDK : https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/java/java-project#_configure-runtime-for-projects .

If you have a managed project (eg. Maven, Gradle, Eclipse-based). then the build files (pom.xml, build.gradle, .classpath, etc) will specify what the supported compile/runtime is. vscode-java will scan your system, and attempt to find a compatible version. You can modify this using the setting (this is what the above extension does), which maps an execution environment (eg. to the JDK that should be used when that environment is requested (eg. ). There's also a property to configure what should be the default JDK when dealing with unmanaged projects.java.configuration.runtimes``JavaSE-11``~/.sdkman/candidates/java/11.0.25-tem/

If by "extension" you mean contributions to VS Code like "vscode-java", then you shouldn't have to worry about their runtime. The extension provides its own JRE on most platforms. There is an option to override that () but most users wouldn't need to.java.jdt.ls.java.home

I've used this configuration, but for some unknown reason it doesn't take effect in VSCode. In short, when developing with VSCode for Java, the choice of JDK is very unclear. I don't understand why everything is configured through settings.json instead of providing a UI for developers to select from. Isn't a UI experience much better? Who would know how to configure the JDK information without reading the documentation? Moreover, every developer's local environment is different and they all have to configure their JDK paths. Why can't it be like JetBrains, where you can download a JDK from their own marketplace? That way, at least the usage of the downloaded JDK would be unified.

I've spent a long time configuring the JDK for Java development in VSCode, and it still doesn't work well.

For example, the JDK used by the extension at runtime does not match the one used in my project. Even when I configure my project's JDK as the extension requires, it still doesn't take effect in the terminal. I can't figure out why.

Currently, the barrier to entry is too high. There are too many hidden details that require developers to be very familiar with the extension's configuration. It takes a long time to sort out all these configuration relationships.

[tonycody]

I think that when configuring the Project Settings, if the user updates the JDK Runtime and simultaneously adjusts the environment configuration in the Terminal, it can resolve the issue of an inconsistent JDK.

[rgrunber]

I've used this configuration, but for some unknown reason it doesn't take effect in VSCode. In short, when developing with VSCode for Java, the choice of JDK is very unclear. I don't understand why everything is configured through settings.json instead of providing a UI for developers to select from. Isn't a UI experience much better? Who would know how to configure the JDK information without reading the documentation? Moreover, every developer's local environment is different and they all have to configure their JDK paths. Why can't it be like JetBrains, where you can download a JDK from their own marketplace? That way, at least the usage of the downloaded JDK would be unified.

For any settings.json, there's an icon at the top right editor toolbar that allows you to view the file as a form (UI) editor. You can edit either one. See https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/settings#_settings-json-file .

I've spent a long time configuring the JDK for Java development in VSCode, and it still doesn't work well.

For example, the JDK used by the extension at runtime does not match the one used in my project. Even when I configure my project's JDK as the extension requires, it still doesn't take effect in the terminal. I can't figure out why.

The JDK you configure for your project is only configured for the compilation/running of your projects through vscode-java. It does not apply to any terminal sessions you create within VS Code from the terminal view. The only setting you would need to configure the project JDK is explained on https://github.com/redhat-developer/vscode-java/?tab=readme-ov-file#project-jdks.

Are most of your JDKs installed under C:\Users\XS\.jdks\ ? Are they automatically installed there or is that a location you chose ? We do auto-detect various JDK locations so that users don't need to specify java.configuration.runtimes but that relies on know pre-defined installation locations.

[cypher256]

@tonycody
For Maven, the Java version for your project should be specified in the pom.xml.

<properties>
    <!-- <maven.compiler.source>21</maven.compiler.source> -->
    <!-- <maven.compiler.target>21</maven.compiler.target> -->
    <maven.compiler.release>21</maven.compiler.release><!-- JEP 247: API validation -->
</properties>

The Java version for the terminal can be specified in the terminal profile drill-down if you are using the Extension Pack for Java Auto Config. You can also set the default Java version for the terminal with "Select Default Profile".

[github-actions]

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