Installed Java 7 on Mac OS X but Terminal is still using version 6

Question

I've installed JDK 7u7 downloaded from oracle's website. But after installation, the terminal is still showing java version 6

$java -version
java version "1.6.0_35"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_35-b10-428-11M3811)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.10-b01-428, mixed mode)

any idea why java 7 is not showing up?

Ans: OK, the problem has been resolved. Here is the answer: I found that my Terminal has a .bash_profile and the java home variable is set to 1.6

export JAVA_HOME="/System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.6.0/Home"

So this is the line causing the problem every time I opened a new terminal window. Simply remove this line will solve the problem. You still need to follow what @aleroot said, but if that doesn't work for you, check the .bash_profile (or .bashrc) setting file to see if you've previously exported any java version.

Answer 1

Oracle's installer puts java inside the /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin. And it doesn't overwrite /usr/bin/java. So, if you issue a

whereis java

in the terminal, it'll return /usr/bin/java. (which in turn points to /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/A/Commands/java, which is Apple's 1.6 version).

So, if you want to use the new java version, replace the /usr/bin/java symlink so that it points to /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home/bin/java instead:

sudo rm /usr/bin/java
sudo ln -s /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home/bin/java /usr/bin