Installing Sun Java on Ubuntu Lucid

2010-06-10 22:41 +00:00 | 8 comments

As of Ubuntu Lucid, the Sun Java JRE has been replaced with OpenJDK. Unfortunately, OpenJDK still isn’t a complete drop-in replacement for Sun Java. For instance, the Facebook “Upload Photos” applet doesn’t work correctly; the photos don’t have thumbnails and can’t be rotated before upload. The solution is to install the Sun Java JRE.

  1. Add the Canonical partner repository.
    sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ lucid partner"
  2. Install Sun Java JRE.
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-fonts sun-java6-plugin
  3. Update system defaults to prefer Sun Java over OpenJDK.
    sudo update-alternatives --set java /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/bin/java
    sudo update-alternatives --set javaws /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/bin/javaws
    sudo update-alternatives --set mozilla-javaplugin.so /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/lib/*/libnpjp2.so
  4. If that fails, manually choose them from a list. Always choose the option containing “java-6-sun”.
    sudo update-alternatives --config java
    sudo update-alternatives --config javaws
    sudo update-alternatives --config mozilla-javaplugin.so
  5. Restart Firefox.

Oh, happy coffee-cup-clock progress bar, how I missed you!

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  1. Tom Purl’s avatar

    Tom Purl on 2010-06-11 at 15:04 +00:00

    Thanks for the tip! I had noticed that I was using the openjdk on my netbook, which was “upgraded” to 10.4 with a clean installation.

    Also, I noticed that my main computer had both Sun’s JDK and the openjdk. I upgraded this machine without re-installing the OS. Surprisingly, all of the java-related shortcuts were already pointing at the Sun version.

    Reply

    1. tyler’s avatar

      tyler on 2010-06-11 at 15:27 +00:00

      An upgrade won’t overwrite your /etc/alternatives preferences. By the same token, just installing the Sun JDK/JRE doesn’t make it the default JVM. Hence the update-alternatives commands.

      Reply

    2. Adam Schaible’s avatar

      Adam Schaible on 2010-06-15 at 17:07 +00:00

      Great guide, this is all the information I needed to replace Iced Tea with good ole Sun for those proprietary apps that refuse to run on Iced Tea.

      Thanks a lot!

      Reply

    3. adam’s avatar

      adam on 2010-06-28 at 22:22 +00:00

      Thank you you are the first site to make this easy. I have been using Ubuntu since the beginning and this is the best instruction for Java.

      Do you perfer Netbeans, or Eclipse?

      Reply

    4. Rarsa’s avatar

      Rarsa on 2010-07-22 at 02:26 +00:00

      Succinct and easy.

      I’ll need to remember this when writing “How-to”s

      Thanks.

      Reply

    5. Will’s avatar

      Will on 2011-07-12 at 20:21 +00:00

      OMG, you’re my HERO! I’ve been trying for literally months to get ONE website to work properly. Your fix took less than a minute, and works for both Firefox and Google Chrome. Thank you so much!

      Reply

      1. Tyler Wagner’s avatar

        Tyler Wagner on 2011-07-12 at 20:36 +00:00

        I’m glad I could help, Will!

        Reply

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