Sun Java 6 on Ubuntu

Question

The java library I need (jpcap) only works on Java 6, it won't work with Java 7. Is it still possible to install Java 6 on Ubuntu? According to the Ubuntu Help :

Oracle (Sun) Java 6 is no longer available to be distributed by Ubuntu, because of license issues

I've tried to use the instructions on the same site but they don't seem to work... ./jre-6u34-linux-i586.bin doesn't seem to do anything!

Answer 1

I would try the OpenJDK 6 which AFAIK is fine on Ubuntu and check you have the right version 32-bit vs 64-bit for your machine. i586 is 32-bit and won't work with a 64-bit build of jpcap.

Answer 2

Check out these instructions on how to install Sun JDK 6. In older versions of the repositories the desired package is included.

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If you're not obliged to, try using jNetPcap instead. It's another wrapper around pcap, it just works on more recent JVMs and is not restricted to 32 bit architecture.