Well, golly, it only took what - about 10 years? But finally someone at Sun - maybe its the new CEO, Jonathan Schwartz - has seen the light & will make it far easier for Linux distros to include the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Up to now, Linux users have had to download the JRE, and Sun didn't exactly make that task simple, or they've had to use repositories that did the work for them, but those weren't fully kosher, so that was always non-obvious as well. Now, though, you should be able to install your distro, & the JRE will come with it. Wow, how handy ... just as Java finds itself being eclipsed by gads of other languages and options, now we'll be able to enjoy it in its sunset years. Thanks, Sun!
1. It took them a while to make this decision. In any case, it is very good news for us Linux users. I recall reading about how non-'kosher' the ones in the repos are.
I really don't see why they made it hard for Linux users to get JRE, considering that they could target that segment of society in the first place as end users who can also contribute to them.
Posted at 1:50AM on May 12th 2006 by Clair Ching