java --version doesn't work in the command line

Question

I tried java --version in the command line and I get :

Unrecognized option: --version
Error: Could not create the Java virtual machine
Error: A fatal exception has occurred. Program will exit.

Everything was working fine until I installed jre 7 (I had jdk 1.6 preinstalled ) So, I uninstalled the previous versions, restarted and then installed fresh jdk 7u5 windows i586.

Still I get the same problem. Can anyone help me with this?
I am unable to install and run maven for this reason.

• Dennis Meng: For what it's worth, java -help prints out usage information; doing that would've given you the solution immediately.
• user1658543: @DennisMeng yes, if you know that you need to write just one dash.
• user85421: @NilsLindemann that is why most tools come with documentation even back in 2012 (and, at least actual versions, also accept --help)

Answer 1

You used two - marks. Try with one: java -version.

Update: Since Java 9 java and javac commands support both --version and -version.

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Bonus:

As mentioned by Stephen C java --help states (at least in recent versions supporting --version) that

-version print product version to the error stream and exit
--version print product version to the output stream and exit

This means that if you try to execute java -version programmatically, for instance via Process you will need to read its result from Process#getErrorStream() instead of Process#getOutputStream().

Such behavior can be also observed in other java options which have - and -- versions. For instance -h or -? or -help will print to error stream, while --help will print to output stream.

• Stephen C: There is a subtle difference between -version and --version. The former outputs to standard error, while the latter outputs to standard output ... as is the standard behavior for --version options on Linux, MacOS, etc. (This is mentioned by java --help ... at least on recent versions of Java that support the --version form.)
• Pshemo: @StephenC That is very interesting. Thank you for sharing. Added this to an answer.

Answer 2

java -version

This is the command to get the current installed version info

• Mark Rotteveel: This basically repeats the information provided in the answer from Pshemo from 2012.

Answer 3

For me the following command works: java -version instead of this: java --version

• Abra: Pardon me, but I don't see how your answer adds anything that does not already appear in the other answers and since you posted your answer nearly twelve years after the question was originally posted, there is no excuse for repeating an existing answer (in my opinion). Please correct me if I have missed something in your answer. By the way (and not directly related to your answer), I suggest that you learn how to use markdown.