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Eclipse install process has me completely stymied [message #1718893]

Fri, 01 January 2016 10:58

Wilbur Goltermann

Messages: 3
Registered: January 2016

Junior Member

I downloaded eclipse-java-mars-1-macosx-cocoa-x86_64.tar, opened it and ran the app. App told me I needed a legacy version of Java. I clicked the appropriate link and was directed to apple website whence I downloaded the Java 6 legacy runtime environment, which was described on the apple website as:

Quote:

Download Java for OS X 2015-001
Download Java for OS X 2015-001 installs the legacy Java 6 runtime for OS X 10.11 El Capitan, OS X 10.10 Yosemite, OS X 10.9 Mavericks, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, and OS X 10.7 Lion.

This package is exclusively intended for support of legacy software and installs the same deprecated version of Java 6 included in the 2014-001 and 2013-005 releases.

Then restarted Eclipse and was told exactly the opposite of what I was told before I installed the legacy runtime. It said

Quote:

Version 1.6.0_65 of the JVM is not suitable for this product
Version: 1.7 or greater is required.

So I went to Oracle's Site and downloaded the latest version of Java, and Installed it, but apparently an uninstall seems to be required since Eclipse still reported that Version 1.6.0_65 was still installed.

I tried to follow instructions I found d on the web for uninstalling Java, and at the first step it referenced files in /System/Library/LaunchDaemons which do not exist.

So now I have all of this stuff installed and nothing works.

What am I missing?

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Re: Eclipse install process has me completely stymied [message #1718965 is a reply to message #1718893]

Mon, 04 January 2016 02:35

Eric Rizzo

Messages: 3070
Registered: July 2009

Senior Member

Apple hates Java, and has done a thorough job of screwing up what used to be the best OS for Java development. <sigh/>

The "you need legacy Java" message was from OS X, not Eclipse. The advice to download and install it is bad advice, but sadly nothing that Eclipse can remedy. Installing "legacy Java" just reverts your system to a VERY outdated JRE and renders much Java-based software, including Eclipse, broken. <sigh/>

Eclipse requires Java 7 or above (this year's release of Eclipse packages in June will require Java 8 ), so the best thing is to download JDK 1.8 (not just the JRE), install that, then point your eclipse.ini file to it's exact location per the instructions at the eclipse.ini wiki page. Oracle JDK download links change often, so it's best to Google for "JDK 8 download" and you'll find it. Here's the page as it stands at the time I'm writing this.

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Re: Eclipse install process has me completely stymied [message #1718967 is a reply to message #1718965]

Mon, 04 January 2016 03:13

Wilbur Goltermann

Messages: 3
Registered: January 2016

Junior Member

Eric,

Thanks for replying. At least, now, I think I understand what was happening.

I fully agree with your assessment of Apple's direction with Java. They would like everybody to be developing in XCode/Swift.

So, one final question. If I install JDK 8 will there be any misbehaving bits of "legacy Java" hanging around? That is, do I need to do an uninstall of legacy first?

I taught Computer Science at Univ of Colo for some time, and Java was my favorite language for teaching, and for general development. I did a boatload of Java development using only Emacs and println statements for debugging. I love the language.

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Re: Eclipse install process has me completely stymied [message #1718968 is a reply to message #1718967]

Mon, 04 January 2016 04:04

Eric Rizzo

Messages: 3070
Registered: July 2009

Senior Member

Wilbur Goltermann wrote on Mon, 04 January 2016 03:13

If I install JDK 8 will there be any misbehaving bits of "legacy Java" hanging around? That is, do I need to do an uninstall of legacy first?

I'm not certain (I'm not willing to try the "legacy" installation on my MacBook), but I would definitely uninstall it if possible. No sense in having that outdated JRE sitting around just waiting to rear its ugly head at an unexpected moment.
As far as Eclipse is concerned, if you specify the JDK location via eclipse.ini, you'll be assured it's being used by Eclipse regardless of what happens in the OS (unless the JDK you point to is removed). That's why I always recommend using eclipse.ini, to insulate yourself from system-level changes or programs that install/change Java installations.

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