setting PATH for J2SDK

[sajchurchey]

How can I set the PATH variable permanently for my RH 9 and RH 7.3 systems so that it can find my JVM?

[bwkaz]

That depends -- where did you install it to? ;)

It'll help if you can find the javac executable (with something like find /usr -name javac -- but be warned, this can take a while). If you've got a /usr/java directory, then starting find off in that directory will help a lot -- find /usr/java -name javac to start it off there instead.

[sajchurchey]

I know where that is: /usr/java/j2sdk1.4.1_01/bin

[bwkaz]

OK, now edit your PATH to contain that directory. Add a line to ~/.bash_profile and ~/.bashrc that reads:

export PATH=$PATH:/usr/java/j2sdk1.4.1_01/bin

And then log out and back in, and that should do it.

If you want to have this work for all users, edit /etc/profile and /etc/bashrc. The profile files are executed when you start a login shell, and the others (the bashrc ones) are executed when you start any other shell (like if you fire up xterm, it's bash process reads the bashrc file).

[gfreehed]

you could also add the line into your /etc/profile file so that all users get the path.

[sajchurchey]

I've always edited .bash_profile or /etc/profile but to no avail. Thanx for letting me know that it takes more than just one or two files to make this happen.

[bigrigdriver]

Actually, there is no need to log out and back in. Use the bash dot operator, or the keyword source. If you choose to put the path statement in your .profile, use the dot command like so: . .profile (note: that's dot dotprofile). Use the source keyword like this: source .profile (source dotprofile). Has the same effect that logout and login would have, without the hassle.
This information provided curtesy of 'A Practical Guide to Linux'.