Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE) - Installation Notes

System Requirements

Prior to installing the Java 2 SDK, you should insure that you have installed the full set of required patches needed for support of this release.

You will find a patch cluster for each Solaris operating environment platform. Each patch cluster applies to all supported versions of the Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) on the given platform.

Installation Instructions

Prior to installing the Java 2 SDK, you should insure that you have installed the full set of required patches needed for support of this release. See the prior section for patch information. See also the note about the location of the Java HotSpot libjvm.so files .

The J2SDK 1.3.1, is available in two installation formats.

  • A self-extracting binary file which can be used to install the Java 2 SDK in a location chosen by the user. This package can be installed by anyone (not only root users), and it can be installed in any location. It will not displace the system version of the Java platform suppled by the Solaris Operating Environment (unless you intentially install it in the same location as the system's Java platform, which requires you to be root user). If you are using this file, see Self-Extracting Binary.
  • A .tar.Z file containing Solaris SUNW* packages to be installed with the pkgadd utility. The SUNW pakcages require root access to install, and they install by default in a location such that they replace the system version of the Java platform supplied by the Solaris Operating Environment. If you are using this bundle, see Installation of Packages.

Note:

<version number>
  
  chmod +x j2sdk-1_3_1_<version number>-solaris-sparc.bin
   
  chmod +x j2sdk-1_3_1_01-solaris-sparc.bin

Installation of Self-Extracting Binary

Use these instructions if you want to use the self-extracting binary file to install the Java 2 SDK. If you want to install Solaris packages comprising the SDK, see Installation of Packages.

  1. Check the download file size

    2. Before you download a file, notice that its byte size is provided on the download page. Once the download has completed, check that you have downloaded the full, uncorrupted software file.

  2. Make sure that execute permissions are set on the self-extracting binary:

    3. On SPARC:
    chmod +x j2sdk-1_3_1_<version number>-solaris-sparc.sh

    On x86:
    chmod +x j2sdk-1_3_1_<version number>-solaris-i586.sh

  3. Change directory to the location where you would like the files to be installed.
  4. Run the self-extracting binary.

Launch the self-extracting binary file. The binary code license will be displayed, and you will be prompted to agree to its terms. The Java 2 SDK files will be installed in a subdirectory called j2sdk1_3_1_<version number>. After the installation is finished, the subdirectory can be renamed as desired.

Installation of Packages

Use these instructions if you want to use the pkgadd utility to install the Solaris packages for the Java 2 SDK. If you want to use the self-extracting binary file instead, see Self-extracting Binary.

  1. Check the download file size

    2. Before you download a file, notice that its byte size is provided on the download page. Once the download has completed, check that you have downloaded the full, uncorrupted software file.

  2. Extract the contents of the compressed tar file:

    3. On SPARC:
    zcat j2sdk-1_3_1_<version number>-solaris-sparc.tar.Z | tar -xf -

    On x86:
    zcat j2sdk-1_3_1_<version number>-solaris-i586.tar.Z | tar -xf -

    This will create seven packages (SUNWj3dmo, SUNWj3dev, SUNWj3man, SUNWj3rt, plus three packages containing Japanese man pages: SUNWjej3m, SUNWjpj3m, and SUNWjuj3m) along with the product license, README, and other release documentation.

  3. Become root by running su and entering the super-user password.
  4. Uninstall Previous Installation of J2SDK 1.3.0

    5. Note: The default installation location for J2SDK 1.3.1 versions is /usr/j2se. That is the same location in which J2SDK 1.3.0 is installed. In this step you will uninstall J2SDK 1.3.0 to clear the way for the installation of a J2SDK 1.3.1 version. Skip this step if you have not previously installed J2SDK 1.3.0 or if you intend to install J2SDK 1.3.1 in a non-default location.

    If you have previously installed the packages for J2SDK 1.3.0, remove them.

    pkgrm SUNWj3dmo SUNWj3man SUNWj3dev SUNWj3rt

    If your /usr/java symbolic link was pointing to the J2SDK 1.2.2 installation at /usr/java1.2, you may want to update it to point to /usr/j2se where the J2SDK 1.3.1 version will be installed.

  5. Run the pkgadd command to install the packages:

    6. pkgadd -d . SUNWj3rt SUNWj3dev SUNWj3man SUNWj3dmo

    This will install the J2SDK 1.3.1 version into /usr/j2se; see the pkgadd(1) and admin(4) man pages for information on installing the SDK in an alternate location.

  6. For Japanese users, run the pkgadd command to install the Japanese man page packages:

    7. pkgadd -d . SUNWjej3m SUNWjpj3m SUNWjuj3m

  7. Delete the tar files and extracted directories.
  8. Exit the root shell.
Java Plug-in Product Installation Instructions

For documentation on the Java Plug-in product, see

  1. Set the NPX_PLUGIN_PATH environment variable to the directory containing the javaplugin.so file.

    2. On SPARC platforms, the default location of javaplugin.so for the package installation is in this directory: /usr/j2se/jre/plugin/sparc/ns4/

    On Intel platforms, the default location is this directory: /usr/j2se/jre/plugin/i386/ns4/

  2. For Netscape 6 browsers: Create a symbolic link in the Netscape plugins directory

    3. If (and only if) you are using Netscape 6, you will need to create a symbolic link in the Netscape plugins directory to the path of the libjavaplugin_oji.so file. In the package installation of J2SDK 1.3.1, this file is located at /usr/j2se/jre/plugin/<arch>/ns600/libjavaplugin_oji.so, where <arch> is either sparc or i386, depending on your platform. For example: 

    cd ${NETSCAPE6}/bin/plugins
ln -s ${JRE}/plugin/sparc/ns600/libjavaplugin_oji.so .
  3. For all Netscape browsers: Start your Netscape browser, or restart it if it is already up.
  4. For all Netscape browsers: Restart your browser a second time.

    Restarting the browser a second time is necessary because of bug 4358142.

Location of libjvm.so files

jre/lib/sparc/client/libjvm.so (on SPARC)
jre/lib/i386/client/libjvm.so (on x86)

jre/lib/sparc/server/libjvm.so (on SPARC)
jre/lib/i386/server/libjvm.so (on x86)

Selecting the Default Java Platform

/usr/java/usr/java1.1/usr/java1.2/usr/j2se

Prior to the Solaris 8 release, the /usr/java symbolic link pointed to /usr/java1.1 if both JDK 1.1 and J2SDK 1.2.2 were installed, making JDK 1.1 the default Java platform. Starting with the Solaris 8 release, the /usr/java symbolic link points to /usr/java1.2 by default if both JDK 1.1 and J2SDK 1.2.2 are installed, making J2SDK 1.2.2 the default Java platform.

Because there are symbolic links in /usr/bin (also known as /bin) that use /usr/java (for example, /usr/bin/java refers to /usr/java/bin/java), this /usr/java link can change the default Java installation seen by most users. Many Java applications run on any of J2SDK 1.3.1, J2SDK 1.2.2, or JDK 1.1, but users and applications might want to be selective about which Java installation they use.

If you want to use JDK 1.1, /usr/java1.1/bin should be on your PATH before /usr/bin. If you want to use J2SDK 1.3.1, /usr/j2se/bin should be on your PATH before /usr/bin.

It is possible for root users to make J2SDK 1.3.1 the default Java platform by modifying the /usr/java symbolic link to point to /usr/j2se. However, changing the symbolic link in this manner may cause problems for some Java applications that are expecting to use earlier versions of the Java platform. See the online compatibility documentation for information about incompatibilities between J2SDK 1.2 and J2SDK 1.3.

Installation Notes

Java 2 SDK, Standard Edition Version 1.3.1 Solaris 2.6, 7, 8, and 9 Operating Environments

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