Need help with Java sdk and jdk...?

I am starting to learn java, so I went to www.howstuffworks.com and went to its java section. Then I followed the link to the place where you download the sdk, and it said that it's life was going to end soon or something. It gave 2 options, one to migrate to business and one to migrate to the upgraded java. However, I couldn't find any sdks there, only jdks. The article is a little outdated, but I want one that will work with the instructions there. So, which one do I download? Also, how do you set the path? The last time I tried...it didn't work very well and I had to type this huge string of letters just to get to it on the command prompt, and the link shows no instructions plainly and when I found them, they were too complicated to follow. Help!