installing jre 1.6 plugin for firefox

[JVincent08]

which plugin to I make a sym link to for jre 1.6 and where do I put it? I tried linking to jre1.6.0/lib/amd64/libjava.so in the /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/ directory (where the xine and other plugins are) but when I open firefox and load aboutlugins, there's no entry for Java. I've tried linking to several different ones but I still can't get it to work. Am I doing something wrong here? I'm on FC7 x86_64 using the 64 bit jre 1.6 and 64 bit Firefox. Thanks in advance.

[Manchunian]

I have the following symbolic link, and it works a dream:

/usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/plugins/libjavaplugin.so

[JVincent08]

I don't have that I don't even have a mozilla-firefox directory under /usr/lib/

[Manchunian]

Why not try creating it? I know that I couldn't get Java working when I made the symbolic link in the mozilla directory.

[JVincent08]

I tried 'ln -s /usr/local/jre1.6.0/lib/amd64/libjava.so /usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/plugins/libjavaplugin.so' but no luck.

[Manchunian]

I have to confess not having done this for a while - I sure remember the trouble I had with it when I first started using Linux.
Now, going back to my file I find this softlink:

/usr/lib/mozilla-firefox/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so


Do you have this? It appears necessary:

Mozilla 1.4 and later
Go to the plugins sub-directory under the Mozilla installation directory
cd <Mozilla installation directory>/plugins
In the current directory, create a symbolic link to the JRE ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so

The above comes from the Java website.

[JVincent08]

The Mozilla PluginDoc says

If your distribution doesn't include it, Download and install JRE 1.4.2 or later. After your JRE is installed, open a terminal, change to your Mozilla Firefox plugins directory, and issue the following command:

ln -s /usr/java/jre1.5.0_09/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so ./libjavaplugin_oji.so

If you are not using Sun JRE 1.5.0_09, and/or you installed your JRE at a different location, you will need to modify the command accordingly. Do not copy the plugin, otherwise Firefox will crash if you try viewing a page containing a Java applet.

Further information, including known issues, is available from the Java FAQ.

These are the instructions I'm trying to follow, but they are for jre 1.5, not the current 1.6. I can't find libjavaplugin_oji.so anywhere in the 1.6 release. The closest thing I have is jre1.6.0/lib/amd64/libjava.so which is what I've been trying to use.

[Manchunian]

How did you install Java in the first place? Did you accept the contract? I installed it via apt once and I didn't get the contract - not sure why. Of course, it didn't work. Now, I always download it from the site and install it by hand.

[JVincent08]

I downloaded jre-6-linux-amd64.bin from here. I copied it to /usr/local and ran it from there. It extracted a folder called jre1.6.x (don't remember the last number, I'm at school at the moment). Inside this folder is a subdirectory 'lib' and under that is 'amd64'. Inside that seems to be all the plugins, including a file called libjava.so which I assumed is the plugin I'm supposed to use. Any instructions I find online refer to version 1.5.x where the plugin is named libjavaplugin_oji.so. This is why I'm asking which one I'm supposed to use; I can't find any instructions for 1.6.

I can't list the entire contents of the jre1.6.0 folder if you need it..

[Manchunian]

I don't download Java from the same place. Here is where I go every time I need to install it. I choose the Linux (self-extracting file) and follow the instuctions given (although I imagine you'd use the Linux x64). This has always worked for me, but it requires a certain calm patience to do it without making a mistake at first! What I find helps me (just a little tip) is to copy the file and then paste it into the terminal (or drag and drop if your terminal allows this) at the moment where you enter the name of the file. I know this seems obvious, but the names are long and the slightest mistake and it won't work. Note that this is the 1.6.0 version - it's what I have on my system and it works well.