Ubuntu – How to install the latest Sun Java JRE on Ubuntu Server 9.10

The java6 package was moved from the multiverse to the partner repository for Ubuntu 10.04 (and perhaps going forward, for Ubunto 10.10)

Add the repository to your sources.list:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ lucid partner"

Update the source list

sudo apt-get update

And install java

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-fonts

The above three steps can also be performed in the gui:

1. System --> Administration --> Software Sources
2. Open the Other Software tab
3. Click + Add...
4. Enter deb http://archive.canonical.com/ lucid partner
5. Click +Add Source to accept the new repository
6. Click Close to update the source list
7. Open Firefox and open the following URLs:
   • apt:sun-java6-jre
   • apt:sun-java6-plugin
   • apt:sun-java6-fonts

Alternately, if you want to develop in java, you would install the sun-java6-jdk package.

If you have multiple versions of java installed, you may need to change the default version with the sudo update-alternatives --config java command, selecting the one with j2re1.6-sun in it.

I think if you are going to distribute it, you would want to make sure that you don't require an installer to be run otherwise you could overwrite defaults on the target workstation/ server. Then that client could get pretty upset!

If you include all the configuration files required to run your app with this self-contained jvm, you would be doing the same type of thing that other vendors do. So, I don't see this as a big issue. for example, don't require the enduser to set a JAVA_HOME systemwide and include any runtime options in a conf file like jboss does with run.conf or tomcat does with setenv.sh.

That being said, if you distribute the jvm, you're probably going to be responsible for supporting it, possibly well beyond the support periods that oracle provides--so you might want to consider that as a reason not to do it.