Java JDK? Where? How

RussG2 · February 22, 2024, 5:09pm

I went to create my first LibreOffice Base file and have been on a wild goose chase for at least an hour since then. I got an error about Java not being installed and have been all over the web trfying to figure out what version I need, where to get it and how to install it, etc. I just keep going around in circles.

I think, but am uncertain, I should use JDK 11 (I’m using a Mac with macOS Big Sur 11.7.10, and LibreOffice 7.4.6.2) I set out to find it but could not. I found a page on Oracle’s site but it seems only a later version JDK can be downloaded. I have found nothing helpful on libreoffice.org or anywhere else and am about to give up.

I’ve been here
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Faq/General/InstallJava
and here

and here

and other pages. You get the idea. Much of what I have found is tech babble way over my head.

I’m stuck. It shouldn’t be this hard. Can anybody be of assistance here?

Thank you.

Gbp · February 22, 2024, 6:50pm

Hello,
I don’t know how ro do it in Mac, but You need to install JRE instead JDK.
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/HowTo/Install_the_correct_JRE_-_LibreOffice_on_Windows_10

RobertG · February 22, 2024, 7:39pm

For Mac: Might be this helps:

RussG2 · February 22, 2024, 10:18pm

@Gbp

Macs, as I understand it, do not use JRE, they use JDK. Note that the page to which you linked refers to Windows machies only and thus it is not relevant to the macOS.

Thanks, all the same.

EDIT: Further research would tend to indicate you are correct that JRE would be the ticket. JDK for develpment; JRE for regular users. Still researching.
EDIT 2: Gemini (Googles AI bot) says " * Download the JDK (Java Development Kit) version, not the JRE (Java Runtime Environment). This is because LibreOffice Base requires the full development environment."
EDIT 3. Error message retruned after creating a new Base file “Oracle’s Java Development Kit (JDK on macOS 10.10 or greater to perform this task. Please install them and restart LibreOffice”

Shouldn’t be this hard!

@RobertG
Running macOS 11.7.10 on a mid 2015 MacBook Pro I downloaded and installed Version 8 Update 401 (filesize: 88.59 MB) Release date: January 16, 2024 from https://www.java.com/en/download/ and was then able to start LibreOffice Base. Installation was easy-peasy, and I didn’t hve to do anything else in order to get Base to open a file I created with the wizard. (I haven’t tried to use it yet, however.)

Thanks!

=====
Mac System Requirements for Oracle Java 8 and later versions

X64 based macOS platform running versions 10.8.3+
Administrator privileges
Only 64-bit browser only (e.g., Safari)

Ref: Oracle JDK 8 and JRE 8 Certified System Configurations

RobertG · February 23, 2024, 6:58am

@RussG2 : Did you follow the link I posted? Its another thread, same content. I don’t know anything about Mac. I have only heard about the problems with MAC and Java.

If you use internal Firebird database you won’t need Java. But you can’t use the Report Builder and the wizards in Base.

iplaw67 · February 23, 2024, 2:05pm

The recommendation is to use a full JDK, not a JRE, on macOS.

A number of different JDKs for macOS are available from different sources:

Oracle;
OpenJDK;
AdoptOpenJDK, etc

It doesn’t have to be Oracle.

Not all of them are necessarily recognized by Libre Office, depending on the version of the SDK. Often, the most recent versions aren’t always recognized in Libre Office, so it can be worthwhile using a slightly older, not cutting edge version.

Either you find a pkg or DMG download for your processor type, and then install using the usual methods that are specific to those kinds of disk images, or you can use Homebrew or the Ports mechanism to install one or more JDKs of your choosing, e. g.

N. B. the Appstore version of Libre Office doesn’t recognize any kind of JDK. This is deliberate.

iplaw67 · February 23, 2024, 2:12pm

Information on why it is complicated on macOS here:
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=101956

RussG2 · February 23, 2024, 2:57pm

I know a little less than nothing about this and it seems every time I think I’ve learned something I know a little less! LOL.

I believe for Base to work on my Mac a JDK is required. JRE won’t do. At first I thought an older JDK was needed. Turns out maybe not. I also learned that there are different installer versions, I think.

In the end–I hope–I followed the link in the LO error message I got when trying to edit a base file, downloaded a JDK there, one for Macs with Intel CPUs, and installed it. Base now seems to work. Yay!

Now all I have to do to do is learn the program! LOL. I used Filemaker a million years ago which was a relational db but that’s a distant memory. Still, what I learned then may help now.

Thanks for your help!

iplaw67 · March 3, 2024, 8:05am

You risk being disappointed by the user unfriendliness of Base compared to Filemaker. Stuff that is simple to achieve in Filemaker becomes significantly more complicated to do in LO Base. The Base manual originally written and updated by Robert and translated from German by the LO documentation team into a number of languages will help with a lot of things.

RussG2 · March 3, 2024, 12:51pm

Thanks.

I have the manual and have referred to it. Unfortunately, I have not had time lately to devote to learning more about Base and have been forced to abandon my exploration of the program for the foreseeable future.