Through this series we see how to install Java. In this article, we will look specifically at installing on Linux distributions that use apt-get such as Debian and Ubuntu.
Note When attempting to install, we may get a message E: Unable to fetch some archives, maybe run apt-get update or try with --fix-missing?. If this happens, run sudo apt-get update and try again.
Java 8
By default, available on Ubuntu 16.04; not available on Ubuntu 14.04 or Ubuntu 12.04.
JRE
Console - user@hostname~$
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sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre
JDK
We do not need to install the JRE separately when installing the JDK, it will be included with the JDK install.
Console - user@hostname~$
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sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk
Java 7
By default, available on Ubuntu 14.04 and 12.04; not available on Ubuntu 16.04.
JRE
Console - user@hostname~$
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sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre
JDK
Console - user@hostname~$
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sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk
Java 6
By default, available on Ubuntu 14.04 and 12.04; not available on Ubuntu 16.04.
JRE
Console - user@hostname~$
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sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre
JDK
Console - user@hostname~$
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sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jdk
Selecting Java Version
JRE
If there are multiple versions of Java installed, we can select which one we want to use like so:
Console - user@hostname~$
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sudo update-alternatives --config java
Output
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2
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7
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9
There are 2 choices for the alternative java (providing /usr/bin/java).
Selection Path Priority Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/java 1061 auto mode
1 /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/java 1061 manual mode
2 /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-openjdk-amd64/jre/bin/java 1051 manual mode
Press enter to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:
Currently java 6 is selected, but can switch to java 7 by typing 2 then hitting Enter
Output
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update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-openjdk-amd64/jre/bin/java to provide /usr/bin/java (java) in manual mode.
JDK
We need to repeat the process for javac if we have the JDK installed.
Console - user@hostname~$
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sudo update-alternatives --config javac
Output
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There are 2 choices for the alternative javac (providing /usr/bin/javac).
Selection Path Priority Status
------------------------------------------------------------
* 0 /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk-amd64/bin/javac 1061 auto mode
1 /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk-amd64/bin/javac 1061 manual mode
2 /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-openjdk-amd64/bin/javac 1051 manual mode
Press enter to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:
Currently java 6 is selected, but can switch to java 7 by typing 2 then hitting Enter
Output
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update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-7-openjdk-amd64/bin/javac to provide /usr/bin/javac (javac) in manual mode.