How to get Java working in Opera Ubuntu 11.04/11.10

[Ben Stones]

First, uninstall the Icedtea Java plugin from the Ubuntu Software Center. Then open a Terminal window and enter the following command one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ferramroberto/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin

Note: The sun-java6-jre and sun-java6-plugin packages are as far as I know, out of date so use at your own risk and responsibility. However, I can confirm they work in Opera perfectly! Simply restart Opera and the plugin should be detected automatically.

Explanation of the commands above:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ferramroberto/java

Adds a repository (a source that is added to a list on Ubuntu) to download the packages (applications).

sudo apt-get update

Updates to also include the new repository added. You must do this each time a new repository is added, even when using the graphical user interface of APT (Synaptic Package Manager, which in 11.10 needs to be installed via the Ubuntu Software Center).

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin

Installs the runtime environment and the plugin for the JRE to be used within web browsers.

Why does the IcedTea plugin not work in Opera?

I believe it is because it only appears to work in Firefox from searching around about the IcedTea plugin.

How do I remove the added repository in the future?

Check the following file first to remove it:

sudo gedit  /etc/apt/sources.list

If it isn't listed there, it would be in:

sudo gedit  /etc/apt/sources.list.d

How do I uninstall packages?

sudo apt-get remove package_name

Make sure you remove both the JRE and the plugin when and if you do in the future, obviously.

External references for your interest:

Java Virtual Machine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - JRE (Java Runtime Environment) is the virtual machine and the plugin makes it work in Opera.

[mischayahd]

A shorter way to fix this is to run this on the terminal.

    sudo apt-get install sun-java6-fonts sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin ubuntu-restricted-extras

Just saw it on UbuntuGeek's website.

[Ben Stones]

A shorter way to fix this is to run this on the terminal.

    sudo apt-get install sun-java6-fonts sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin ubuntu-restricted-extras

Just saw it on UbuntuGeek's website.

Hi,

I believe the sun-java-* packages are no longer found in the default repositories, which is why I suggested adding the third party repository in the original post.

Regards,
Ben.

[DPS Computing]

Nice comprehensive tutorial . Thank you Ben .