first time installing java on FC4

[magnumPI]

ok...i've been pretty much raised on windows, so forgive me if i have no idea how to manually install programs in general. To start with, i wanted to install the Java Runtime Environment. I downloaded the rpm from the java website. I untarred the file, changed permissions and let it extract. Here is what showed up next:

[root@localhost Desktop]# ls
jre-1_5_0_04-linux-i586.rpm                jre-1_5_0_04-linux-i586.bin

so there is the bin file i downloaded and the rpm i extracted. so how do i go about installing it from here? ive tried other tutorials and they dont seem to work (i may even have old java stuff that i need to uninstall before i try installing again).

edit

ok so what i want to do first is make sure there is no other java packages installed. that way it will be easier for people to help me install java. remember, i am coming from years of windows, so im used to install/uninstall wizards, meaning i may need the code line for line. thanks!

[lakerdonald]

If I remember correctly

rpm -q java

will tell you whether or not it is installed.
You'll want to do:

rpm -iv java-x-x.rpm

to install it.

[magnumPI]

ok here's my current problem:

I followed the installation guide for the Java Runtime Environment for version 1.5.0.04. But when i type "java -version" from the root, I get "version 1.4.2.08." I know 1.5.0.04 is installed because from the menu bar in fedora i can enter the java control panel. fedora says java 1.5 is installed and enabled, but i have a feeling that 1.4.2 is still linked ok connected somewhere (whatever the lingo is in linux). I was raised on windows, so all help that is linux is appreciated.

[compulsiveguile]

what distro are you running? If running Fedora Core 4 try using a "yum" command. This is a program that finds all the programs needed and compiles them itself. I found it very helpful (especially for a linux newb like me). This is only available (so I'm told) on FC4, yet other commands are used for different distros that do basically the same thing. Type "yum install javacc" while superuser, and it should install all available updates. I'm not sure if this is completely accurate, and I'm sure somebody will let me know otherwise. Sorry if this is of no help to you.

[kkubasik]

it seems most likely that the java executable is not in your PATH variable, try typing in the complete path.

/usr/java/sun-jdk-1.4.2/java

or something of the like

locate java
or
slocate java

will be of help, then either symlink from your /usr/bin to the directory its actualy in, or add the java directory to the PATH (recommened)
PATH = $PATH:/path/to/java; export PATH

[magnumPI]

i tried compulsiveguile's "yum install javacc." The good news is that something was downloaded and installed. There was even a display message saying that old files were being deleted. The bad news is that java apps still wont show up on the browser. What would be nice is if i can uninstall all the java packages i tried to install in the first place. As far as i know, these are the 3 packages i tried to install:

jre1.5.0_04-linux.rpm.bin
j2re1.4.2_01-linux.bin
yum install javacc

I'm also very confused as to what java files I can uninstall. /usr/java was a manually made folder in which jre1.5.0 is located. so far thats the one i want working but is not. jre1.4.2 is the package showing up as the installed package when i type in 'java -version'. and javacc...well i believe it got installed into /usr/bin. Java applets till wont show up on websites and Im pretty sure my company cant run java applets from other comps to this one either. Please help. I'll play around a little more with it. Keep those suggestions coming!

[magnumPI]

solved! I did a little digging in the tutorial section and found this site:

http://www.fedoranews.org/contributo...fc3_note/#Java

as far as i know, this works on Fedora Core 4 (which I am currently on). Thanks for the help everyone!

[compulsiveguile]

Glad things worked out for you