Installing Java

After this section, you should have a recent Java VM installed and in working order on your machine. If this is already the case, you can safely continue to next section, Installing the client. A quick and easy way to check is to get a command line (Windows Dos Prompt or OS X Terminal, for example) and type:

 java -version

If it says something like this:

 java version "1.4.2_02"
 Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2_02-b03)
 Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.2_02-b03, mixed mode)

Then you should be set. 1.4.2 is currently the recommended version and if you have anything below that you should consider upgrading.

Java versions

The versioning scheme used by Sun can be a bit confusing. There are three available editions, called Java2 ME (Micro Edition), Java2 SE (Standard Edition) and Java2 EE (Enterprise edition). These are commonly referred to as j2ME, J2SE and J2EE respectively. For FUMBBL purposes, the standard edition is the one to choose.

In addition to this, there are two major package choices: The Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and the Software Development Kit (SDK). The JRE contains the tools necessary to run Java application. The SDK also has these tools but in addition to this, it includes the tools you need to develop new Java applications.

If you are reading this, you most likely only want to play and have no interest in developing Java applications, so the version you are looking for is the J2SE JRE.

Downloading the Java install

At this point, version 1.4.2 is the recommended one for most people, so go to the Java 1.4.2 download page and get the approriate package. Note that the download page includes a section that has the "NetBeans IDE". This is not relevant for FUMBBL purposes, so avoid it and go with the plain J2SE JRE instead.

Windows

Windows users have the option of downloading an "online" installer. This is roughly 1MB in size and will download the necessary components during the install phase. The other option is the offline installer at around 15MB which does not require you to be online while installing.

Linux

Linux users have two options: RPM and Normal. The RPM is for use on RPM based linux distributions (RedHat and Mandrake mainly) while the Normal file is used for other Linux variants.

Mac OS X

All versions of OS X since 10.1 come with JRE 1.3.1 - 1.4.2 pre-installed. There is no option for downloading an upgrade from Sun's site because Apple makes the JRE themselves. Unfortunately there is no way to get the right version of Java running on Mac OS 9 or earlier. Time to upgrade.

Installing

Windows

Simply run the downloaded file. It will show you a fairly standard install wizard. Go through this as normal and when completed, the install is done.

Linux

Make sure the file you downloaded is executable (chmod u+x j2re-*****.bin) and run it. After accepting the license agreement, a file will be extracted. This is either the .rpm or an installer program, depending on what file you chose to download. Install the RPM as normal in your distribution (rpm -Uvh j2re-***.rpm) or run the installer file, whichever is appropriate. Follow any further on-screen instructions as necessary.

Now you have Java running on your system and you are ready to install the client.

Java 1.6.0 slowdown problems

There are known slowdown problems with the client when using certain Java 1.6.0 releases on a Windows computer. Affected versions include Java 1.6.0 Update 10, 11, 12 and 13. Upgrade to the latest release if you are experiencing slowdown problems.

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