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Updating Java on SLED 10


How to install the latest version of Sun Java JRE on SLED 10 and use it as default.

Download and installing the latest version of Java:

  • Download and install the latest Sun Java RPM.
  • Use su to become root for the rest of these steps.
  • Set the downloaded file to executable (chmod +x) and run it.
  • Accept the license agreement, and it will the extract the RPM and install the JRE to /usr/java.
  • The installer will automatically update the symlink /usr/java/latest to point at the most recently installed JRE.

The following steps are performed the first time only. For future updates, just follow the above steps to download and install the latest version, and everything should use the new version automatically.

To make it the default JRE for your system:

  • cd /usr/lib/jvm
  • rm jre (it should be a symlink)
  • ln -s /usr/java/latest jre

To make it the default JRE for GroupWise Client:

  • cd /opt/novell/groupwise/client
  • rm -rf jre (GroupWise installs its own JRE, you can delete or just rename with mv jre jre.bkp)
  • ln -s /usr/java/latest jre

To make it the default JRE for GroupWise Messenger:

  • cd /opt/novell/messenger/client
  • rm -rf jre (Messenger installs its own JRE, you can delete or just rename with mv jre jre.bkp)
  • ln -s /usr/java/latest jre

To make it your default JRE for FireFox:

  1. cd /usr/lib/firefox/plugins
  2. rm libjavaplugin_oji.so
  3. ln -s /usr/java/latest/libjavaplugin_oji.so
  4. cd /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins
  5. Repeat steps 2 & 3
  6. cd /usr/lib/browser-plugins
  7. Repeat steps 2 & 3

Possibly you don’t need to add the symlink to all three locations for FireFox, but it takes essentially no space on disk and guarantees you get the latest version loaded.