How to update JDK on Oracle Enterprise Linux from version 1.6 to 1.7

JDK is the environment to develop Java programs and updating java on Linux boxes is a requirement which often comes up. The following lists the steps required to update the JDK from version 1.6.0_22 to 1.7.0_21.


Step 1: Download the JDK rpm from the following link:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk7-downloads-1880260.html

Step 2: The current JDK version is:

[root@test software]# java -version
java version “1.6.0_22″
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (IcedTea6 1.10.4) (rhel-1.41.1.10.4.el6-i386)
OpenJDK Client VM (build 20.0-b11, mixed mode)

Step 3: Run the following command to update the JDK:

rpm -Uvh jdk-7u21-linux-i586.rpm
[root@test software]# rpm -Uvh jdk-7u21-linux-i586.rpm
Preparing…                ########################################### [100%]
1:jdk                    ########################################### [100%]
Unpacking JAR files…
rt.jar…
jsse.jar…
charsets.jar…
tools.jar…
localedata.jar…
plugin.jar…
javaws.jar…
deploy.jar…

Step 4: Check the version:

[root@test software]# java -version
java version “1.6.0_22″
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (IcedTea6 1.10.4) (rhel-1.41.1.10.4.el6-i386)
OpenJDK Client VM (build 20.0-b11, mixed mode)

Step 5: So the version is still pointing to the old one. We have to use the alternatives here to update the version. The newly installed Java is at this location /usr/java/jdk1.7.0_21/ :

[root@test bin]# pwd
/usr/java/jdk1.7.0_21/bin
[root@test bin]# /usr/sbin/alternatives –install /usr/bin/java java /usr/java/jdk1.7.0_21/bin/java 17021

Step 5: Now it should point to the latest version:

[root@test bin]# java -version
java version “1.7.0_21″
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_21-b11)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 23.21-b01, mixed mode, sharing)

That’s it !!!