JDK 5.0 Solaris Operating System (32-bit)

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Contents

System Requirements
JDK Installation Instructions
   Installation of Self-Extracting Binary
   Installation of Solaris Packages
Java Plug-in Browser Registration Instructions
Java Web Start Installation Notes
General Installation Notes
   Solaris Package Install - Selecting the Default Java Platform
   Location of Java VM Library Files (libjvm.so)

Note that for x86 processors, display color depth should be set to 16 bit or higher.

Prior to installing the JDK, you should ensure that you have installed the full set of required patches needed for support of this release. Recommended and required patches are now hosted for download on the SunSolve website.

See also Solaris Font Package Requirements for information about which font packages should be on your system.

Installing the JDK automatically installs the Java Plug-in and Java Web Start. Note that the Java Plug-in needs to be registered with the browser. Instructions for doing so can be found below at Java Plug-in Browser Registration Instructions.

To install the 32-bit JDK, follow the installation instructions below.

To install the 64-bit JDK on a SPARC platform, you must follow a two-step procedure. First, install the 32-bit JDK using the installation instructions below. Second, install the supplemental support for 64-bit operation by following the 64-bit Installation Instructions.

Install formats - JDK 5.0 is available in two installation formats.

• Self-extracting Binary File - This file can be used to install the JDK in a location chosen by the user. This file 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 System (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 Installation of Self-Extracting Binary below.

• Solaris Packages - A .tar.Z file containing Solaris SUNW* packages to be installed with the pkgadd utility. The SUNW packages 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 system. If you are using this bundle, see Installation of Solaris Packages below.

      <version>

      chmod +x jdk-1_5_0_<version>-solaris-sparc.sh

      chmod +x jdk-1_5_0_01-solaris-sparc.sh

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

1. Download the self-extracting binary and check the file size to ensure that you have downloaded the full, uncorrupted software bundle.

You can download to any directory you choose; it does not have to be the directory where you want to install the JDK.

Before you download the file, notice its byte size provided on the download page on the web site. Once the download has completed, compare that file size to the size of the downloaded file to make sure they are equal.

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

On SPARC processors:
chmod +x jdk-1_5_0_<version>-solaris-sparc.sh

On x86 processors:
chmod +x jdk-1_5_0_<version>-solaris-i586.sh

3. Change directory to the location where you would like the files to be installed.

The next step installs the JDK into the current directory.

4. Run the self-extracting binary.

Execute the downloaded file, prepended by the path to it. For example, if the file is in the current directory, prepend it with "./" (necessary if "." is not in the PATH environment variable):

On SPARC processors:
./jdk-1_5_0_<version>-solaris-sparc.sh

On x86 processors:
./jdk-1_5_0_<version>-solaris-i586.sh

The binary code license is displayed, and you are prompted to agree to its terms.

The JDK files are installed in a directory called jdk1.5.0_<version> in the current directory. Follow this link to see its directory structure. The JDK documentation is a separate download.

Note about System Preferences: By default, the installation script configures the system such that the backing store for system preferences is created inside the JDK's installed directory. If the JDK is installed on a network-mounted drive, it and the system preferences can be exported for sharing with Java runtime environments on other machines. As an alternative, root users can use the -localinstall option when running the installation script, as in this example:

jdk-1_5_0_<version>-solaris-sparc.sh -localinstall

This option causes the system preferences to be stored in the /etc directory from where they can be shared only by VMs running on the local machine. You must be root user for the -localinstall option to work.

See the Preferences API documentation for more information about preferences in the Java platform.

Installation of Solaris Packages

Use these instructions if you want to use the pkgadd utility to install the Solaris packages for the JDK. If you want to use the self-extracting binary file instead, see Installation of Self-extracting Binary above.

1. Download and check the file size to ensure that you have downloaded the full, uncorrupted software bundle.

It's best to create a new directory to save the download bundle to, as the next step will extract several directories and files into this directory. The directory can be anywhere you choose.

Before you download the file, notice its byte size provided on the download page on the web site. Once the download has completed, compare that file size to the size of the downloaded file to make sure they are equal.

2. Extract the contents of the compressed tar file:

On SPARC processors:
zcat jdk-1_5_0_<version>-solaris-sparc.tar.Z | tar -xf -

On x86 processors:
zcat jdk-1_5_0_<version>-solaris-i586.tar.Z | tar -xf -

This creates several directories (SUNWj5rt, SUNWj5dev, SUNWj5cfg, SUNWj5man, SUNWj5dmo, and SUNWj5jmp) plus a few files in the current directory.

3. Become root by running su and entering the super-user password.

4. Uninstall any earlier 5.0 package installation of JDK.

If your machine has an earlier version of 5.0 already installed in the default location (/usr/jdk/jdk1.5.0), you must remove it before installing a later version of 5.0 at that location.

You can skip this step if you intend to install JDK 5.0 in a non-default location. For more details, see Selecting the Default Java Platform.

To uninstall the Solaris packages for JDK 5.0, remove them by running:

pkgrm SUNWj5rt SUNWj5dev SUNWj5cfg SUNWj5man SUNWj5dmo

5. Run the pkgadd command to install the packages.

On either x86 or SPARC processors, run:

pkgadd -d . SUNWj5rt SUNWj5dev SUNWj5cfg SUNWj5man SUNWj5dmo

This installs the JDK 5.0 into /usr/jdk/jdk1.5.0. Version 5.0 does not automatically become the default Java platform on Solaris 9 or earlier (unless there was no default), but does become the default on Solaris 10. If you want 5.0 to be the default on Solaris 8 or 9, follow the instructions at Default Installations of Java Platform.

See the pkgadd(1) and admin(4) man pages for information on installing the JDK in a non-default location.

6. For Japanese users: Install man pages.

If your machine has an earlier version of the 5.0 Japanese man pages already installed in /usr/jdk/jdk1.5.0, you must remove that package before installing a later version of the 5.0 Japanese man pages at that location. Remove this package by running:

pkgrm SUNWj5jmp

Then run the pkgadd command to install the new Japanese man page package:

pkgadd -d . SUNWj5jmp

7. Delete the tar files and extracted SUNW* directories.

8. Exit the root shell. No need to reboot.

Java Plug-in Browser Registration Instructions

You must register the Java Plug-in component with Netscape or Mozilla for the Plug-in to work. Click on the following button to see the instructions for manual registration. Java Plug-in is supported for Netscape 4.x and 7 (but not 6.x) and Mozilla 1.0 and higher.

Also see documentation on the Java Plug-in component.

Java Web Start Installation Notes

This JDK release includes Java Web Start; Java Web Start is automatically installed with the JDK. But note the following:

• Compatibility: The release of Java Web Start that comes with this JDK/JRE can be run on SDK/JRE 1.2.2 or later. It will not work with SDK/JRE 1.1.x or earlier.
• Upgrading from Previous Versions: This new release will overwrite previous installations and automatically update browsers to use this new release. The configuration files and program files folder used by Java Web Start have changed, but all your settings will remain intact after the upgrade, since Java Web Start will translate your settings to the new form.
• Using Java Web Start with Netscape 6.x/7.x: For Netscape 6.x/7.x users, setup the Java Web Start MIME type (JNLP) in the Edit->Preferences->Navigator->Helper Applications section. The file extension is jnlp; MIME Type is application/x-java-jnlp-file. It should be handled by the javaws executable file in your Java Web Start directory. Also note that, due to a problem with the JavaScript in Netscape 6.x/7.x, you must use the non-JavaScript version of the demos page.
• pkgadd utility use: (1) If you use the pkgadd utility to install the Solaris packages for JDK/JRE 5.0, a symbolic link for /j2se/jre/javaws/javaws will be created in /usr/bin. (2) If you have a previous release of Java Web Start installed and you want the latest version to run instead, edit the $HOME/.mailcap file so that it is identical to /etc/.mailcap. If you want the older version of Java Web Start to run, do not edit $HOME/.mailcap.

General Installation Notes

Solaris Package Install - Selecting the Default Java Platform

This note describes how the default Java platform is selected when running the Solaris package installation (not the self-extracting binary) of the JDK. It also describes how to change that default.

The Default Java Platform - Several versions of the Java platform can be present simultaneously on a Solaris system (using the default Solaris package installations), but only one can be the "default" Java platform. The default Java platform is defined by the directory that the /usr/java symbolic link points to. To determine the default version of java, run:

/usr/java/bin/java -fullversion

The /usr/java symbolic link can change the default Java platform because there are symbolic links in /usr/bin (also known as /bin) that use it. (For example, the /usr/bin/java link refers to /usr/java/bin/java, which is the Java 2 Runtime Environment). Many Java applications are compatible with later versions of the Java platform, but some applications might be less compatible.

Default Installations of Java Platform - When the Solaris Operating System is installed, the /usr/java symbolic link initially points to the directory shown in the second column of the table below.

Solaris Version	/usr/java Link Originally Points to Directory	Which Can Hold Java Platform	Default Platform After Installing 5.0
Solaris 7	/usr/java1.1	1.1	1.1 (unchanged) *
Solaris 8	/usr/java1.2	1.2.2	1.2.2 (unchanged) *
Solaris 9	/usr/j2se	1.3.1, 1.4.0, 1.4.1or 1.4.2	1.3.1, 1.4.0, 1.4.1 or 1.4.2 (unchanged) *
Solaris 10	/usr/jdk/jdk1.5.0	5.0	5.0

* The only way that installing 5.0 will make itself the default on Solaris 9 or earlier is if no other default exists.

For example, on Solaris 8, the /usr/java symbolic link originally points to directory /usr/java1.2 which holds version 1.2.2. On Solaris 9, the /usr/java symbolic link originally points to directory /usr/j2se, which can hold any one of versions 1.3.1, 1.4.0, 1.4.1 or 1.4.2, depending on the latest Java version you have installed. On Solaris 10, the /usr/java symbolic link originally points to directory /usr/jdk/jdk1.5.0, which holds version 5.0.

Note that installing 5.0 on Solaris 7, 8 or 9 will normally not alter the default Java platform. Version 5.0 will become the default only if the no other default exists. For example, if the /usr/java does not point to a version of Java, installing 5.0 will make /usr/java point to /usr/jdk/jdk1.5.0.

Setting JDK 5.0 to be the default - On Solaris 7 and 8, it is possible for root users to make JDK 5.0 the default Java platform by modifying the /usr/java symbolic link to point to /usr/jdk/jdk1.5.0. On Solaris 9, a root user would modify the /usr/j2se symbolic link to point to the same 5.0 directory. However, changing the symbolic link in this manner may cause problems for some earlier Java applications that have not been tested with 5.0. See the online compatibility documentation for information about incompatibilities between JDK 5.0 and earlier releases:

http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/compatibility.html

PATH Setting - The PATH setting is also important. If you want to use JDK 1.2, /usr/java1.2/bin should be on your PATH before /usr/bin. If you want to use JDK 5.0, /usr/jdk/jdk1.5.0/bin should be on your PATH before /usr/bin.

If you use the Invocation API to launch an application directly rather than using the Java application launcher, be sure to use the correct paths to invoke the Java HotSpot Client Virtual Machine (VM) or Java HotSpot Server VM, as desired. The path within the JDK to the Java HotSpot Client VM is:

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

The path to the Java HotSpot Server VM is:

jre/lib/sparc/server/libjvm.so (on SPARC)
jre/lib/sparcv9/server/libjvm.so (on SPARC 64-bit)
jre/lib/i386/server/libjvm.so (on x86)

The corresponding locations in the Java 2 Runtime Environment begin with jre1.5.0 rather than jre. The Exact VM and Classic VM are no longer part of the JDK, and existing code that uses the Invocation API to launch an application based on old paths to the Exact or Classic VMs will not work.