Editing Java Platform, Standard Edition (section)

== Nomenclature, standards and specifications ==
The platform was known as ''Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition'' or ''J2SE'' from version 1.2, until the name was changed to ''Java Platform, Standard Edition'' or ''Java SE'' in version 1.5. The "SE" is used to distinguish the base platform from the Enterprise Edition ([[Java EE]]) and Micro Edition ([[Java ME]]) platforms. The "2" was originally intended to emphasize the major changes introduced in version 1.2, but was removed in version 1.6. The naming convention has been changed several times over the [[Java version history]]. Starting with J2SE 1.4 (Merlin), Java SE has been developed under the [[Java Community Process]], which produces descriptions of proposed and final specifications for the Java platform called [[Java Specification Request|Java Specification Requests (JSR)]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jcp.org/en/jsr/overview|title=Java Specification Requests Overview|access-date=January 1, 2013|publisher=[[Oracle Corporation]] and/or its affiliates}}</ref> JSR 59 was the umbrella specification for J2SE 1.4 and JSR 176 specified J2SE 5.0 (Tiger). Java SE 6 (Mustang) was released under JSR 270.

[[Java Platform, Enterprise Edition]] (Java EE) is a related specification that includes all the [[class (computer science)|classes]] in Java SE, plus a number that are more useful to programs that run on [[Server (computing)|server]]s as opposed to [[workstation]]s.

[[Java Platform, Micro Edition]] (Java ME) is a related specification intended to provide a certified collection of Java APIs for the development of software for small, resource-constrained devices such as [[cell phone]]s, [[portable digital assistant|PDA]]s and [[set-top box]]es.

The [[Java Runtime Environment|Java Runtime Environment (JRE)]] and [[Java Development Kit|Java Development Kit (JDK)]] are the actual files downloaded and installed on a computer to run or develop Java programs, respectively.