Change java version (Mac)

Question

I have 2 java versions on my computer:

/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_07.jdk/Contents/Home
/System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home

The 1.6.0 is set to default. How can I make my java programs to run 1.7?

Tried to add:

export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_07.jdk/Contents/Home

to my .zshrc file. But this seems to only change the path for my terminals java command.

Also tried to change the HOME symlink like this:

cd /Library/Java
mv Home Home-1.6
ln -s /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_07.jdk/Contents/Home/ Home

This had no effect at all.

Also tried java changer software: http://www.guigarage.com/2013/02/change-java-version-on-mac-os/ But no effect.

Any idea how to start java programs like .app and .jar files with the 1.7 version by just clicking on them?

closed as off topic? "...unless they directly involve tools used primarily for programming." The jdk is almost exclusively used for programming. — Adam
– Adam, Commented Dec 6, 2013 at 21:14

Nicolas Rinaudo · Accepted Answer · 2013-09-27 09:13:49Z

11

I believe OS X (at least 10.8) uses the following paths:

JRE: /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/Current
JDK: /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/CurrentJDK

Those are symlinks, which you can update to point to your 1.7 installation.

You can verify this fairly easily:

a) run which java to check which java executable is being executed. In theory, that should be /usr/bin/java.

b) run ls -la on your java executable, which should tell you where it points (/System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/Current/Commands/java on my machine).

I think this should sort your .jar execution issue. If your Java application is wrapped in a .app, I believe it's a bit more complex: if memory serves, the version of java used will depend on the JavaApplicationStub being used by the .app.

answered Sep 27, 2013 at 9:13

Nicolas Rinaudo

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2 Comments

Grains Over a year ago

I think that last part is the actual answer to the problem: "version of java used will depend on the JavaApplicationStub being used by the .app.". Guess it´s me doing wrong when using Jar Bundle(no 1.7 support....)

Nicolas Rinaudo Over a year ago

In that case, this might be of interest.

user3566154 · Accepted Answer · 2014-04-30 19:50:17Z

2

$ edit ~/.profile

#Java 1.8
export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_20.jdk/Contents/Home
export PATH=${PATH}:${JAVA_HOME}


$ java -version

java version "1.8.0_20-ea"

here are the steps:

http://ukitech.blogspot.com/2014/04/switching-version-of-java-on-mac.html

answered Apr 30, 2014 at 19:50

user3566154

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1 Comment

Mack Over a year ago

Try to add some of the detailed steps from the link...future users may not have access to it.

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-13 12:22:39Z

1

You can always add into your profile both on Mac or Linux. Just create if doesn't exist ~/.profile file and there this line:

export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_07.jdk/Contents/Home

This should work .zshrc as well as .bash_profile are loaded only when terminal window is openned and profile when your graphical environment starts up.

edited Apr 13, 2017 at 12:22

CommunityBot

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answered Apr 30, 2014 at 14:12

saganas

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