Eclipse in OS X uses different version of Java than CLI

Question

When I type java -version in the console I get java version "1.8.0_05". The soft link /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/CurrentJDK points to /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_05.jdk/Contents. In the java preferences window, the only listed version of Java is 1.8. JAVA_HOME is set to /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_05.jdk/Contents/Home.

However, when I try to run Eclipse.app, I get the error: Version 1.6.0_65 of the JVM is not suitable for this product. Version: 1.7 or greater required.

I believe it is trying to use /System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines and in that directory the only version is 1.6.0.jdk.

How can I get eclipse to use the correct version of Java?

Answer 1

I solved this issue in my mac with yosemite:

1. Installed JDK for MACOSX 64bits from https://jdk8.java.net/download.html
2. Inside the eclipse.ini I put this line:

   -vm /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_40.jdk/Contents/Home

And it worked for me!

Answer 2

Download the 64-bit version of Eclipse instead of the 32-bit version.

The reason is that Eclipse contains native machine code (for the GUI) which is why there is both a 32-bit and 64-bit version of Eclipse, and this explicitly require the corresponding Java version. Originally Apple created both versions up to Java 6, but Oracle only creates a 64-bit version (much to the dismay of owners of older machines). So, if you download a 32-bit version of Eclipse it will only run with an Apple JVM, which apparently is too old (which surprise me - I thought Java 6 was still supported for Eclipse 4.4)