Installing Sun Java on Ubuntu Lucid

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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.

Add the Canonical partner repository.
sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ lucid partner"
Install Sun Java JRE.
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-fonts sun-java6-plugin
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
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
Restart Firefox.

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

Comments

8 responses to “Installing Sun Java on Ubuntu Lucid”

2010-06-11

Tom Purl

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. 2010-06-11
  
  tyler
  
  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
2010-06-15

Adam Schaible

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
2010-06-28

adam

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
2010-07-22

Rarsa

Succinct and easy.

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

Thanks.

Reply
2011-07-12

Will

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. 2011-07-12
  
  Tyler Wagner
  
  I’m glad I could help, Will!
  
  Reply
2013-01-04

>kloctalk | Bringing up your Android Dev Environment from Scratch

[…] Java instead of OpenJDK or Java 7 with update-alternatives. The commands to do this, courtesy of Tyler Wagner, […]

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