Installing Java 6 on Mac OS

Question

Is it possible to install the latest JDK on Mac OS 10.5? What are the best options, considering that the Apple-supplied version is 1.5?

Update: I am trying to install JDeveloper 11, which requires JDK 6.

Answer 1

If you have an Intel Mac with a Core 2 Duo, go to Applications/Java and run Java Preferences.app

You'll be able to select "Java SE 6" as your default java version (version 5 is still the shipping default on the OS for compatibility, I guess).

Answer 2

Depending on your hardware the latest version Apple supplies actually is Java 6, but it is not activated as the default version to use. Apple supplies Java 6 only for 64-bit Intel Macs (i.e. not for original Core Duo Macs). For older Macs, you could try the OpenJDK port of Java 6 for Mac (SoyLatte).