Java Runtime Environments....how many are ACTUALLY needed?

[Gab_T]

Ok, how many Runtime environments do you actually need? Here's what I have:

1. Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment 6.0 Update 1
2. J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 11
3. J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 10
4. J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 9
5. J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 6

Which ones do I not need.....Please tell me I can uninstall # 2 through 5. If so in what order...5 then 4 then 3 then 2?

I've got nearly 0.5 TB chewed up in Java Runtime Environments!!! That's pathetic...why doesn't it uninstall the older version before updating to a new version WHENEVER it updates??? Very frustrating.

[goofball]

Why not just uninstall them all and then install only the latest?

I only have 1.5.0.8 at this time, 67MB. Even that is too big, I think but I don't feel like fussing with it at this time.

[Gab_T]

Why not just uninstall them all and then install only the latest?

I only have 1.5.0.8 at this time, 67MB. Even that is too big, I think but I don't feel like fussing with it at this time.

Do you have the official java link to that? And as far as uninstalling goes, do I neeed to uninstall in order from oldest to newest? I would think this to be the case.

[goofball]

what do you see in add/remove programs?

http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_ie.jsp?locale=en&host=www.java.com:80

[bionicbadger]

Why not just uninstall them all and then install only the latest?

I only have 1.5.0.8 at this time, 67MB. Even that is too big, I think but I don't feel like fussing with it at this time.

Because the latest isn't backwards compatible with most things.

/rant on
I @#$%@ hate java. I wish it would go away and die. Its the worst crap language ever because a) its not backwards compatible and they come out with new versions monthly or even more frequently and b) its takes extra time to load. I have 13 versions of Java on my work PC (I'm not kidding) that I got just last year and need at least 6 different versions because various manufacturer's GUIs are all done in stupid java and all different versions that dont work when you install a newer version. Cisco is very bad for this, since the PIX Device Manager, Cisco Lan Manager, and Switch GUIs all use different versions of java, and different kinds of switches or different software revisions on the switches use different versions of java and none are compatible. At least the command line text interface always works (unlike java)...Then the other manufacturers all use different versions of java too and if all you have is the most recent versino you can actually run anything.
/rant off

[Jon Lai]

Ok, how many Runtime environments do you actually need? Here's what I have:

1. Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment 6.0 Update 1
2. J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 11
3. J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 10
4. J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 9
5. J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 6

Which ones do I not need.....Please tell me I can uninstall # 2 through 5. If so in what order...5 then 4 then 3 then 2?

I've got nearly 0.5 TB chewed up in Java Runtime Environments!!! That's pathetic...why doesn't it uninstall the older version before updating to a new version WHENEVER it updates??? Very frustrating.

So that's 500GB of Java... across 5 updates. I can't imagine. I thought the runtime were always ~150mb?

[goofball]

Because the latest isn't backwards compatible with most things.

/rant on
I @#$%@ hate java. I wish it would go away and die. Its the worst crap language ever because a) its not backwards compatible and they come out with new versions monthly or even more frequently and b) its takes extra time to load. I have 13 versions of Java on my work PC (I'm not kidding) that I got just last year and need at least 6 different versions because various manufacturer's GUIs are all done in stupid java and all different versions that dont work when you install a newer version. Cisco is very bad for this, since the PIX Device Manager, Cisco Lan Manager, and Switch GUIs all use different versions of java, and different kinds of switches or different software revisions on the switches use different versions of java and none are compatible. At least the command line text interface always works (unlike java)...Then the other manufacturers all use different versions of java too and if all you have is the most recent versino you can actually run anything.
/rant off

Fair enough. I've run into this problem as well. Seems Java 1.2.2 and Java 1.4.2 aren't the same. I've got some testers now working on this problem, and seeing if 1.5.0.8 will solve this but I'm not really putting any money on it.

[Tiberius]

Uninstall ALL old versions! I read up on this recently and it is a known fault for Java to not clean up old versions when you upgrade it. The biggest issue with keeping the old versions installed is that whatever security issues they had can still be exploited by a hacker (they can trigger the older version of java on your machine and exploit the security issues it had - even if you have upgraded to a newer version... so uninstall the old versions!)

[fenrus]

just use the newest 1.5 version, I believe it's at Update 11 right now.