[vox-tech] Installing Java

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Ken Bloom (kabloom at ucdavis.edu):

> Why do we need Blackdown's versions then if Sun offers downloads for
> Linux already?

Are you asking how and why Blackdown's port came to exist in the first
place, or are you asking why a Linux user might favour one over the other?

I'm not exactly Mr. Java Guy[1], but (to take a shot at the first question)
my vague understanding is that the Blackdown Group ported Sun's JDK to 
Linux (with permission) before Sun itself became interested in doing so
-- accounting for the present existence of two releases for Linux.

As to which JDK a Linux user might prefer and why:  I suppose that the 
generally superior packing for Linux (and for various Linux distros) of 
Blackdown's port might be persuasive to some, and the upstream Sun
version's inherently earliest access to new JDK releases would be more
persuasive to others.

The latter would particularly be the case if you're one of those "The
hell with package management; I'll just build shiny-new software under
/usr/local or /opt" people.  As you'll have guessed, I'm definitely not
one of those.

[1] Not intending any form of criticism, but my personal choice of JDKs,
between the two, is "None of The Above".  ;->