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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-24T07:55:29+00:00

On linux, I often launch and compile from the command line (java/javac) Though, Java

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On linux, I often launch and compile from the command line (java/javac)
Though, Java isn’t the only language I use – I use C++, and for that I have GCC. Because I have both java and GCC, for example, there are more than one instance of ‘javac’:

From the terminal, passing ‘javac’ with no arguments:

The program ‘javac’ can be found in the following packages:
* openjdk-6-jdk
* ecj
* gcj-4.4-jdk
* gcj-4.5-jdk
Try: sudo apt-get install

Is there a way to specify which package I want to use? Either per-command, or set a default? I would prefer not to remove one or the other.

Thanks –
Zac

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team
      update-java-alternatives -s openjdk-6-jdk

    On Ubuntu there is a system called alternatvies installed, to switch between different implementations:

    update-java-alternatives

man update-java-alternatives

    shows the usage:

    NAME
       update-java-alternatives - update alternatives for jre/sdk installations

SYNOPSIS
       update-java-alternatives [--jre] [--plugin] [-t|--test|-v|--verbose]
             -l|--list [<jname>]
             -s|--set <jname>
             -a|--auto
             -h|-?|--help

    If you get problems with swing, you should try sun-java, which you’re missing in your list. 🙂

    As ‘KindOfAutomatic suggests: 

    alternatives --config java
alternatives --config javac

    is the same thing in a different way. Instead of ‘java’, you can config your favorite editor, x-www-browser, pager and so on as well. Have a look at 

    ls /etc/alternatives

    to get an impression, what’s already done there.

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