HowTo: Install Java - Mac OS X
Through this series we see how to install Java. In this article, we will look specifically at installing on Mac OS X.
Java 6 JDK
Until Mac OS X 10.7, Java was installed by default. For Mac OS X 10.7, Java can be downloaded from http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1421.
The JAVA_HOME environment variable should be set to /Library/Java/Home. You can set it by adding the following to /etc/launchd.conf:
/etc/launchd.conf
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setenv JAVA_HOME /Library/Java/Home
See our article, HowTo: Set an Environment Variable in Mac OS X for other ways to set the environment variable.
Java 7 JDK
Java 7 can be installed by downloading it from Oracle. Download
If you have both the Apple and Oracle JDKs installed, make sure to go to /Applications/Utilities and open Java Preferences to select which version of the JDK to use.