Which JRE version to use while making new Java Project in Eclipse and what are the drawbacks?

Question

In Eclipse when i create new Java Project, i see options like:

Now i want to know, what is the safest option to use considering when i export jar file any user will be able to use it. If selecting the shown option, does that mean if someone has JRE 1.6, he will not be able to run that jar file, or is it backward compatible??

As such my project has no specific 1.7 dependencies.

Answer 1

This is very broad question, which JRE to use depends on your requirement. If you have multiple projects, each specific to a JRE, then you can use project specific JRE. If you are happy with eclipse default JRE you can continue. It is purely your decision.

Someone with JRE 1.6 should be able to run on 1.6 as long as compilation level is set to 1.6 (This may flag if your code has any 1.7 features which are not part of 1.6).