Category: IntelliJ

Java 8 on OS X Yosemite

I downloaded a recent copy of IntelliJ, only to discover when I went to open it, OS  Yosemite indicated I had no version of Java installed, and that I’d need to install an old version. The “More Info…” button took me to this page:  http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1572

…which didn’t load.  (UPDATE: This fixed the load issue.) Similar detailed install directions also ended up at the same broken page.

So, I attempted to download Java 8 directly from Oracle and  install install it.  The install worked fine, but IntelliJ 14 still did not open.  Same error message.

Here’s how I solved it.  Hop into terminal and do this:

$ cd "/Applications/IntelliJ IDEA 14.app/Contents"
$ cp Info.plist Info.plist-orig
   
$ vi Info.plist    # ... any text editor will do

Find the line that says 1.6* and change it to 1.8*.  Save your file, and now go open IntelliJ as normal.

This causes IntelliJ 14 to use Java JDK 8, and all is right with the world.

Where’s my JDK?

Caught in the Java depreciation battle under OS 10.6 and can’t find where the Java Development Kit (JDK) now resides? Here’s a command that will tell you, allowing you to still use InteliJ and other IDEs on OS X.

There’s a lot going on with Java at the moment. Oracle acquires Sun, putting the language in squarely in hands that don’t inspire trust; the same thing happened with MySQL. Meanwhile, the Apache Software Foundation quits the Java SE/EE Executive Committee. And now Apple deprecates Java, and the reason doesn’t appear to be what you’d think.

Starting with OS X 10.6.3 update, developers got caught in the back lash. Things moved on the file system.

Upgrading IntelliJ, the IDE was asking me where my JDK was, as it certainly wasn’t where the software, or I, thought it should be.

You won’t find the location using /Applications/Utilities/Java Preferences.app.

But you can find it with some digging. Thanks to this developer release note from Apple, the following command from Terminal will spew out some XML.

$ /usr/libexec/java_home –xml

Find the dictionary section that has ‘x86_64’ in it, and you’ll find an entry that has a ‘JVMHomePath’ with something like:

/System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home

You want to provide this full path to the IDE as where the JDK lives.

It’s worth pointing out that Apple recommends that if you install any 3rd party JVMs they should be installed in /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines or ~/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines.