"which java" in CentOS prints wrong java path

Question

I am not sure why "which java" and "whereis java" paths are not correct. I tried to edit ~/.bash_profile and /etc/environment but did not help. The desired path is what is seen in "echo $JAVA_HOME" below but the same is not reflected in "which java"

Below is what I get in CentOS 6.4:

which java

/usr/bin/java

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java -version

java version "1.7.0_45"

JAVA(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_45-b18)

JAVA HotSpot (TM) 64-bit Server VM (build 24.45-b08, mixed mode)

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whereis java

java: /usr/bin/java /etc/java /usr/lib/java /usr/share/java

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echo $JAVA_HOME

/usr/java/jdk1.7.0_45/jre => desired shows correct when echo $JAVA_HOME

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Answer 1

Your PATH (and nothing else) determines which directories to look for commands. This is the same in Linux, Solaris, and DOS.

When you do a which {command} it find the first directory you can execute the command in.

When you update your PATH in .bashrc, you have to source it again to change your current settings.