In this series we'll look at what you can do to your Java application to make the experience more Mac-like. These end users don't care what language your application is written in, they just want a double-clickable application that is attractive and easy to use. Whether or not you develop on a Mac, take the time to make a small number of changes to your application so that you provide a Mac-like experience for the millions of potential customers who already use Mac OS X. The Mac is a great platform for Java developers with a wide array of commercial, free, and open source development tools available. Check a checkbox and you've enabled the built in Apache server. Developers can pop open a Terminal window and find that their favorite geek tools like vi, emacs, and the Java command line tools are already installed.
With a few simple tweaks you can give your Java application a native look and feel so that Mac OS X users can install and run your application without being aware that they are running a cross-platform application.ĭespite its pretty face, Mac OS X is built on top of BSD UNIX and comes complete with J2SE and Java Web Start installed. They have the Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) v1.3.1 pre-installed on their computers and may not even know it.
Here are the Mac Java 7 installation instructions, straight from the mother-ship.There is a market full of millions of potential customers for your Java application that you may not be considering. Also, to get Java 7 from Oracle, you will need to be running OS X 10.7.3 and above. “For Java versions 6 and below, Apple supplies their own version of Java,” according to Oracle.įinally, while Java does come pre-installed with OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, starting with OS X 10.7 it is disabled by Apple. According to the specs list, “32-bit browsers such as Chrome do not support Java 7 on the Mac platform.”įor those of you looking for Java 6 on, don’t bother. Oracle says Java 7 requires an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X version 10.7.3 (Lion) and above, while the browser requirements are 64-bit Safari or Firefox.
If you’ve uninstalled Java 7 and want to restore to Java 6, Oracle directs customers to Apple’s KB article HT5559: “Java for OS X 2014-001: How to re-enable the Apple-provided Java SE 6 web plug-in and Web Start features.” Updating to the latest release will allow Java to be run on Mac OS X.” According to a memo on, “Oracle's Java version 7u25 and below have been disabled by Apple on OS X. Now for a few additional notes.Īs some of you already know, Java 7 is actually the latest version available. Download Java for OS X 2014-001 for your computer straight from Softpedia.
If, for some reason, you need Java 6 installed on your Mac, the 2014-001 release is precisely what you need. The Cupertino company no longer collaborates with Oracle on these updates, at least not like they used to, so Oracle has been left in charge with the updates and Apple has taken on the liberty to protect its users by disabling Java the applet plug-in whenever it senses danger. To get the latest version of Java (currently that’s Java 7), Apple recommends that you go straight to and grab it from there. It’s a thing they’ve been doing for a while to protect you against security threats (Java being one of the most targeted platforms by cybercrooks). To use applets on a web page, click on the region labeled ‘Missing plug-in’ to go download the latest version of the Java applet plug-in from Oracle.”įor those of you who are surprised by Apple’s decision to uninstall the Java applet plug-in from all web browsers, don’t be.
This update uninstalls the Apple-provided Java applet plug-in from all web browsers. This package installs the same version of Java 6 included in Java for OS X 2013-005.
“Java for OS X 2014-001 includes installation improvements, and supersedes all previous versions of Java for OS X. The information provided by the Cupertino giant is scarce, but we have the full scoop for you in the paragraphs below.įirst off, here’s Apple’s terse description of the new Java for OS X 2014-001. Through its Security site, Apple announced yesterday that Java for OS X was being updated.