Using Java 5 on Mac OS X Tiger

Mac OS X Tiger still uses the J2SE 1.4 as default Java virtual machine and compiler. If you need to upgrade to JDK 5, you have to download it from Apple download site.

After you install it, you need to change a symlink to point to the JDK 5:

$ cd /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/ $ sudo mv Current Current.old $ ln -s 1.5 Current $ mv CurrentJDK CurrentJDK.old $ ln -s 1.5 CurrentJDK

Now, let’s check if you have Java 5:

$ java -version java version "1.5.0_05"Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.5.0_05-83)Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.5.0_05-48, mixed mode, sharing) 

Credit: Jeff Mesnil’s Weblog