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Installing and using Java question

Change Agent

Change Agent

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 24, 2018
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I am looking at installing an application on the Mac that requires Java. Now I have not looked at Java for a long time. The last time I looked it was prone to being part of attacks or venerable in other ways that potentially threatens the security of the Mac.

Does anybody have any information (that is up to date) on that or knows where to find it?

And next should I instal it to test this application, how does one remove Java. Is there a uninstall available? I did not find one.

Thanks.
 
You can get free, open source Java (called OpenJDK) for your Mac from a variety of reputable sources like openjdk.org, openlogic.com, adoptium.net, azul.com and even microsoft.com. Usually the installer is also the uninstaller. Another way to get OpenJDK with an easy uninstall ability is to use Homebrew, but that requires some Terminal commands.

Java inside a web page loaded in a browser was a security risk (the"applet" model). Applets were removed from Java a few years ago. Java to run a program outside of a browser isn't any more (or less) of a risk than most other programming languages.

Many, many highly secure programs on both local computers and Internet servers run on Java.
 
Wow SteveOm thanks for the quick reply. Good information. Will dive in to it more.
 
OP:

What Mac do you have?
(Intel or Apple Silicon)

What OS is running on it?

For the "Azul" java, try here:
www.azul.com

Azul Downloads

Click here to download the Azul Zulu Builds of OpenJDK for Java 8, 11, 17, 21, 23 for Linux, Windows and macOS. Also download Azul Platform Prime.
www.azul.com www.azul.com
(Go to the bottom of the page, past the advertising, select your OS type (Windows, macOS, Linux), then if needed the computer CPU architecture (we recommend 64-bit if you have a 64-bit computer), then pick the appropriate download from the page.)

For the "Adoptium/Eclipse" java try here:

Latest Releases | Adoptium

Eclipse Adoptium provides prebuilt OpenJDK binaries ...
adoptium.net adoptium.net
(This website refers to a Java JDK as "Temurin", which is a bit confusing. Make sure that "Temurin 17" is selected, then press the large "Latest Release" button.
This will download a .pkg file. Double-click on it to run the installer.)

(thanks to JMRI org, for the above info)
 
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I have a M1 MBP. OS 14.6.1.
Thanks Fishrrman for the detailed java info. very helpful.

Do you have a recommendation for or the other Java? Is one better? Better to use one with certain applications? Or are they just two different developments that in the end do the same.
 
I'm curious as what application is requiring Java. I've been looking at Matlab and the system requirements docs state that Java needs to be installed and they have a specific package in mind (will have to look up exactly what package that is).

FWIW, my first experience with Java was on Solaris, played with the HotJava browser for a short while before installing Netscape (early 1999).
 
Change Agent said:
The last time I looked it was prone to being part of attacks or venerable in other ways that potentially threatens the security of the Mac.
Click to expand...
Security issues with Java were mostly because some web pages ran Java apps inside the browser. These days it would be very unusual to have a browsers based Java app.

Nothing wrong with having Java installed for use by normal (non-browser) apps.

I have Oracle's JAVA installed, but very seldom use it. https://www.java.com/en/

Edit: @SteveOm has already said much the same.
 
Last edited:
IvyKing said:
I'm curious as what application is requiring Java.

FWIW, my first experience with Java was on Solaris, played with the HotJava browser for a short while before installing Netscape (early 1999).
Click to expand...
Ah good old Netscape. Shows how old we are...

Next year we will need to start billing (yes the EU thinks of new things all the time) in a way that the bill is also machine readable. As I am a fan of open source I found an application that can do this but it needs Java. It is called Fakturama.
 
Nermal said:
And you were probably better off not knowing that! Oracle's version has some licensing peculiarities that are probably best avoided.
Click to expand...
I see, sounds like complex. Thanks I will stay away from them.
 
I also wonder why not to use Oracle

"With its acquisition of Sun Microsystems in 2010, Oracle also acquired the ownership and stewardship of Java"

I developed some maps that relied on an open source Java program for installation. Discontinued them all about 5 years ago, mainly due to bugs in the open source app. But was also annoyed that Oracle started requiring registration to download Java. It is still free, but you just have to register which wasn't a requirement previously.

So, not really a Java fan myself but don't see a reason not to use the Oracle version, unless your app was designed for one of those other versions. True, there has been some controversy about their licensing, but AFAIK these would only be an issue for developers and not end users. I suppose you might choose not to use it as a protest against their policies though, if you feel strongly about them.

As has already been said, the only security concerns I recall were related to the use of Java on websites but AFAIK, browsers no longer support that. I would check with the developer of the Java app you want to use and go with their recommendation for Java version. You may find that it requires a specific release to work at all.
 
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Thanks Boyd01. Good info. I had the same thought this morning to ask the developers what version of Java they recommend.
 
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Yeah, that was another reason I stopped using the Java app. Whenever a Java update was pushed out, it would inevitably break the app so you had to be cautious about upgrading. It's possible to downgrade Java versions, but not trivial (involves terminal commands). So try to find out exactly which release is known to work (and then there may also be issues with your version of MacOS).
 
Boyd01 said:
Yeah, that was another reason I stopped using the Java app. Whenever a Java update was pushed out, it would inevitably break the app so you had to be cautious about upgrading. It's possible to downgrade Java versions, but not trivial (involves terminal commands). So try to find out exactly which release is known to work (and then there may also be issues with your version of MacOS).
Click to expand...
wow, it is never easy is it. good tip though.
 
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