Why do I need to install Java when it is already installed?
QI keep seeing an alert that I need to install Java, although I’m sure it’s already installed and up to date. All web content seems to work properly, so I cannot understand what is wrong, and cannot make this annoying alert stay away. Can you suggest a solution?
AOddly, Macs can require either of two quite different versions of Java. This is because older versions of the Java runtime environment were maintained and distributed by Apple, and some apps and tools still depend on them. However, Oracle has assumed responsibility for all more recent versions, which may be required by other apps and tools. So, if something does decide that it needs Java, you should have both versions available, otherwise you may encounter these irritating warnings.
Apple’s legacy version of the Java 6 runtime environment is officially known as Java for OS X 2015-001, and is available from bit.ly/applejava. Meanwhile, Oracle’s latest Java 8 is available from bit.ly/java8mac. Software that requires Java 8 needs to be run on OS X 10.7.3 or higher as a consequence of that version of Java using APIs (application programming interfaces) that aren’t available in older versions of OS X.
Thankfully, both Java versions seem to work fine alongside one another. This should put an end to those unhelpful alerts at last.