Check java version without java -version

Question

I get the following error while trying to compile or run everything that has to do with java or javac:

Error occurred during initialization of VM
java/lang/ClassNotFoundException: error in opening JAR file <Zip file open error> /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-oracle/jre/lib/rt.jar

I've read here that i should uninstall and install again JDK, here it is written that I should know which version of java I have installed on my pc in order to uninstall-it.

To check the version installed i run java -version but i get the error mentioned above, how can i check my java version without that command?

I know that i have installed java 8 but i don't know precisely which version it is.

"I know that i have installed java 8 but i don't know precisely which version it is." Installed how? — muru, Apr 13 '18 at 12:14
I have about 35 different JREs installed in various nonstandard paths on a Linux server, but I cannot execute java -version as they are owned by other users. I also cannot run apt and most system tools (I do not have su). However I do have read access to each of the "java" binaries. Is there a way to find the java version from the binary itself? — Kristopher Noronha, Dec 30 '21 at 11:45

karel · Answer 1 · 2018-04-13T10:52:15.600

6

To show what version of Java is installed without running java -version, open the terminal and type:

apt policy openjdk-* oracle-java*

A small part of the results of apt policy openjdk-* looks like this:

openjdk-7-jre-lib:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: (none)
  Version table:
openjdk-8-jdk:
  Installed: 8u162-b12-0ubuntu0.16.04.2
  Candidate: 8u162-b12-0ubuntu0.16.04.2

Search for sections that contain either openjdk-*-jre , openjdk-*-jdk or oracle-java* where the wildcard * character can be a Java version number like 6, 7, 8 or 9.

edited Apr 13 '18 at 10:52

answered Apr 13 '18 at 08:53

karel

114,770

thanks, with that command i got tons of lines which one should i search for? – Zeno Raiser Apr 13 '18 at 08:57

score 5 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 13 '18 at 10:54

You can discover the full path of the default java executable with:

readlink -f "$(which java)"

All (sane) Java packages or bundles that I know use installation path names that include the vendor name and major version number which would answer your question. E. g. on my system

$ readlink -f "$(which java)"
/usr/lib/jvm/java-9-openjdk-amd64/bin/java

tells me that the default Java installation is OpenJDK 9.

score 3 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 13 '18 at 10:50

3

You could also try:

dpkg -l | egrep -i 'jre|java|jdk'

edited Apr 13 '18 at 10:50

David Foerster

36,264
56
94
147

answered Apr 13 '18 at 10:17

muclux

5,154

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 18 '18 at 06:49

2

You can use this command for checking your java version:

update-alternatives --config java

edited Apr 18 '18 at 06:49

Campa

983

answered Apr 13 '18 at 09:00

Eranda Peiris

751

7

Wouldn't update-alternatives --display java be simpler and better since OP only wants to “display” available Java versions, not change the default? That wouldn't even require sudo. – David Foerster Apr 13 '18 at 10:47

Check java version without java -version

4 Answers4