Thanks Jonathan. So, what does Java do for me? Why do i need it? On Oct 17, 2014, at 11:45 PM, Jonathan Fletcher <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Oct 17, 2014, at 7:46 PM, John Robinson <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Lee will have to answer this but it sure seems like you don't have Java >> installed. I understand from the smart folks that "enabling Java" on our >> Mac is NOT the Java that is needed for many programs so you have to go to >> Oracle and download the first time, then you will be notified of updates. >> >> Here is the bottom of my Sys. Pref. The far right is the current ver. of >> Java, when opened it has several settings, one is concerning updates. > > > > Earlier versions of Java did not have the application in the System > Preferences. It was in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder. > > You can tell exactly what version you have by doing a little very simple > Terminal work: > > 1. Open Terminal > > 2. Type this: > java -version > > 3. Hit return. It will then tell you what version you have. This is what mine > says: > > java version "1.7.0_07" > Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_07-b10) > Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 23.3-b01, mixed mode) > > The second number says what general version you have (Java 7 in this case). > The rest is a little difficult to intuit, but somewhere in there it tells me > that I am the lucky possessor of "update 71." So this version would be > referred to as Java 7 Update 71 or Java 7u71. > > I have tried to read the documentation online from Oracle and I don't see the > logic for finding "update 71" within "1.7.0_07-b10", so I will just have to > take their word for it. > > Using the Java application (either the one in the Utilities folder or the one > in the System preferences), however, will tell you the number in a way you > can understand. > > More confusion: > All Java 6 releases were from Apple only. With Java 7, Apple has stopped > providing official updates. They all come from Oracle (the owner of Java > since they bought Sun Microsystems, who originally wrote Java) now. That > means they are not held up any more by Apple working their magic on the > various releases before making them available to the vast unwashed masses. > > That also means, however, that Version 6 is generally not available for > direct official download for the Mac. Version 7 is easily available as is, > and (as of recently) so is Java 8. > > I read the "What's New in Java 8" document on the Java site and my eyes > glazed over. There are evident security improvements, but the rest is all > features that only a Java software engineer could love. > > For now, the recommendation is to use Java 7, because that is the most widely > used, and safest, at the moment. You can get it here: > > http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html > > Scroll down past the Java 8 stuff at the top of the list. > > Good luck! > > j. > > > > > > > -- > Jonathan Fletcher > FileMaker Certified Developer (9-13) > FileMaker Business Alliance > > Fletcher Data Consulting > [email protected] > http://www.fletcherdata.com > 502-509-7137 > > > _______________________________________________ > MacGroup mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.math.louisville.edu/mailman/listinfo/macgroup
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