Installing Java 6 on Mac OS

Question

Is it possible to install the latest JDK on Mac OS 10.5? What are the best options, considering that the Apple-supplied version is 1.5?

Update: I am trying to install JDeveloper 11, which requires JDK 6.

Answer 1

Depending on your hardware the latest version Apple supplies actually is Java 6, but it is not activated as the default version to use. Apple supplies Java 6 only for 64-bit Intel Macs (i.e. not for original Core Duo Macs). For older Macs, you could try the OpenJDK port of Java 6 for Mac (SoyLatte).

Answer 2

It is. Check here: Apple support

Answer 3

OS X does have Java 6 after Update 1. The version number you are referring to is the version of Java 6. Do you receive any errors while installing JDeveloper 11?

Answer 4

It's just a software update. Here's a blog post that describes it.

Answer 5

If you have an Intel Mac with a Core 2 Duo, go to Applications/Java and run Java Preferences.app

You'll be able to select "Java SE 6" as your default java version (version 5 is still the shipping default on the OS for compatibility, I guess).

Answer 6

Apple provides Java 6 (1.6) for Leopard (OS X 10.5) as an update, however only the 64-bit version. So, if your Mac is not a 64-bit Intel, then you won't have Java 6 on Leopard.

If you do have a 64-bit Intel, then ensure that you install the latest OS updates, especially the Java ones to make sure you get Java 1.6. Also, you still need to set Java 6 as the default VM in your Java Preferences, as it defaults to Java 1.5.

Currently, the easiest solution if you have a 32-bit Intel processor is to upgrade to Snow Leopard, which includes 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Java 6.

Answer 7

JDeveloper like netbeans and eclipse provide a configuration file(usually a .conf) where you can update a jdkhome attribute addresing the path of your jdk6 installation, as mentioned before you can get it from OpenJDK port of Java 6 for Mac.