JDK RPM Installation for Linux (64-bit)

JDK Documentation

System Requirements

See supported System Configurations for information about supported platforms, operating systems, desktop managers, and browsers.

On a 64-bit system, you can download either the 64-bit or the 32-bit version of the Java platform. However, if you are using a 32-bit browser and you want to use the plugin, then you need to install the 32-bit version of the Java platform. To determine which version of Firefox you are running, launch the application, and select the menu item Help -> About Mozilla Firefox. At the bottom of the window is a version string line that contains either "Linux i686" (32-bit) or "Linux x86_64" (64-bit).

Installation Instructions

This procedure installs the Java Development Kit (JDK) for 64-bit Linux, using an RPM binary bundle. Some Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, are not RPM-based. In that event, please see the self-extracting installation page.

The name of the downloaded file has the following format:

jdk-6u <version> -linux-x64-rpm.bin

<version>

jdk-6u18-linux-x64-rpm.bin

To install, download this file and use the following instructions:

  1. Download and check the download file size.
  2. You can download to any directory that you can write to.

  3. Become root by running the su command and entering the root password.
  4. Extract and install the contents of the downloaded file.
  5. Change directory to where the downloaded file is located and run these commands to first set the executable permissions and then run the binary to extract and run the RPM file:

    
                  % chmod a+x jdk-6u          
           <version> -linux-x64-rpm.bin % ./jdk-6u        
           <version> -linux-x64-rpm.bin              
           
           

    Note that the initial " ./" is required if you do not have " ." in your PATH environment variable.

    The script displays a binary license agreement, which you are asked to agree to before installation can proceed. Once you have agreed to the license, the install script creates and runs the file jdk-6u <version> -linux-x64.rpm in the current directory.

    NOTE - If instead you want to only extract the RPM file but not install it, you can run the .bin file with the -x argument. You do not need to be root to do this.

  6. Delete the rpm file if you want to save disk space.
  7. Exit the root shell.
  8. If you want to use Java within the browser, setup the plugin using the instructions in Manual Plugin Installation for Linux.

Known Problems

  • On 64-bit Linux platforms the 32-bit JDK and 64-bit JDK cannot co-exist when installed from the RPM bundles. One must install one or the other but not both.

The workaround is to use the .bin bundle and install into distinct directories.