How to install and Use Java JDK 21 Initial Release Candidate

The General Availability (GA) date for Java JDK 21, the latest Long Term Supported (LTS) version of Java is 19th September 2023, which is less than a month from now.

But if you are curious to understand and try out Java 21, you can do so by downloading the latest OpenJDK JDK 21 Release-Candidate builds

OpenJDK JDK 21 Release-Candidate Builds Link

Links to OpenJDK JDK 21 Release-Candidates for all Operating Systems

Linux / AArch64	tar.gz (sha256)	201583910
Linux / x64	tar.gz (sha256)	203348211
macOS / AArch64	tar.gz (sha256)	197305058
macOS / x64	tar.gz (sha256)	199663920
Windows / x64	zip (sha256)	201151266

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Source: https://jdk.java.net/21/

As I make use of an ARM-based M1 Macbook, I downloaded the macOS / AArch64 and extracted the .tz file in my download's folder,

% pwd
/Users/c2ctech/Downloads/jdk-21.jdk/Contents/Home/bin

% ./java --version
openjdk 21 2023-09-19
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21+35-2513)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 21+35-2513, mixed mode, sharing)

As the tradition goes, let's try out the "Hello World!" example.

public class HelloWorldJdk21 {

   public static void main(String... args) {

        System.out.println("Hello World from Java JDK 21!");
   }

}

% ./java HelloWorldJdk21.java
Hello World from Java JDK 21!