Java Flavors on Linux

While composing a new blog on Android programming on Linux, I discovered an interesting fact - there are 6 'flavors' of Java currently available for the latest Linux distributions. To make things simpler, I decided to use the latest versions of Ubuntu and Mint - versions 12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin) and 13 (Maya) respectively and use these 'flavors' of Java on them. Both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions will be covered in the blog. Why these two? The answer is that these two are considered to be the most popular distributions - at least according to the latest page hit ranking on Distrowatch.

The first portion on my forthcoming blogs is installing and configuring the 6 'flavors' of Java on Linux Mint 13 (32 and 64 bits). The first part is installing and configuring OpenJDK versions 6 and 7 on the same computer plus the ability to switch between the 2 versions of OpenJDK. Two methods will be outlined - using the command line as well as using GUI tools exclusively.

Readers may wonder why both versions are installed. Why not just stick with one? The answer can be summed up in one word - flexibility. With both versions installed on the same computer, it is now possible to test a program on both version (not at the same time, of course) to see if they are error-free. You can also write a program exclusively for one version without having to worry about conflicts and then switch to another version to write another program for that version exclusively. Having the ability to switch between versions makes program development more flexible.

Stay tuned for the first part...