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Which Java versions matter, and what is an LTS release?

Level I · BeginnerHow Java Runs — JDK, JRE, JVM & Your First Program
Short answer

LTS (Long-Term Support) releases get extended support and are what companies standardize on: 8, 11, 17 and 21 are the widely-used LTS versions.

Explanation

Non-LTS releases come every six months and are shorter-lived. For interviews, know that 8 introduced lambdas/streams, and 17 and 21 added records, sealed types, pattern matching and virtual threads. Targeting an LTS is the safe default for production.

Common mistakes
  • Recommending the newest non-LTS release for production.
  • Not knowing current LTS versions (8, 11, 17, 21, 25).

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