How do I download and install Java for Solaris?

This article applies to:
  • Platform(s): Solaris SPARC, Solaris x86
  • Java version(s): 8.0
Solaris System Requirements

See supported Java 8 System Configurations for information about supported platforms, operating systems, desktop managers, and browsers.

Download
 The instructions below are for installing version Java 8 Update 73 (8u73). If you are installing another version, make sure you change the version number appropriately when you type the commands at the terminal. Example: For Java 8u79 replace 8u73 with 8u79. Note that, as in the preceding example, the version number is sometimes preceded with the letter u and sometimes it is preceded with an underbar, for example, jre1.8.0_73.

You can install a JRE archive binary in any location that you can write to. It will not displace the system version of the Java platform provided by the Oracle Solaris OS.

  1. Go to java.com and click on the Free Java Download button.
  2. The Solaris Manual downloads page appears. Before the file can be downloaded, you must accept the license agreement. The archive binaries can be installed by anyone in any location that you can write to.
  3. Download the bundle.

The .tar.gz archive file (also called a tarball) is a file that can be simultaneously uncompressed and extracted in one step.

Install
  1. Change directory to the location where you would like the JRE to be installed.
    cd directory_path_name
    For example, to install the software in the /usr/java directory:
    cd /usr/java

  2. Move the .tar.gz archive binaries to the current directory.

  3. Unpack the tarball and install Java
    On 64-bit SPARC processors:
    gzip -dc jre-8u73-solaris-sparcv9.tar.gz | tar xf -

    On x64/EM64T processors:
    gzip -dc jre-8u73-solaris-x64.tar.gz | tar xf -

The JRE is installed in a directory called jre1.8.0_<version> in the current directory. For example, for the JRE 8 update 73 release, the directory is named jre1.8.0_73

The JRE documentation is a separate download. See http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html#docs.