Folks, Thanks for all the help with JDK 1.2.2 on potato. It turns out my problem was largely my own stupidity in writing bad Java!
I did learn some important things. To install JDK 1.2.2 from Blackdown or Sun: 1. Make a directory under /usr/local (I used /usr/local/sun). 2. Download the archine into this directory, then unpack it. A directory jdk1.2.2 will be created. 3. Adjust the alternatives to work correctly: update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/javac javac \ usr/local/sun/jdk1.2.2/bin/javac 120 update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java \ usr/local/sun/jdk1.2.2/bin/java 120 4. Check your alternatives with "type" type javac type java Particular thanks go to Harvey Bath for explaining the alternatives mechanism to me. Simon Read Dept. of Comp. Sci. and Info. Sys. Clark 120 American University 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20016 Tel: 1 202 885 3128 Fax: 1 202 885 1479 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WWW: www.csis.american.edu/~simon