valerio.net

A few days ago I wanted to try out a Java-based program. I’ve used Java in the past, but really haven’t been a fan. I can get around, use Eclipse, do semi-useful things but it just seems really “backwards” (for lack of a better word). I don’t mean to throw out flame-bait, but that’s just been my experience so far.

Unfortunately, I didn’t already have a JRE (Java Runtime Environment) installed. I checked the docs for the program, and it doesn’t support the latest 1.6, only the 1.5 JRE. Good thing I checked, since there is nothing worse than downloading, installing, and uninstalling 150+ MB installations for no good reason.

So I go to the Java downloads page. Everything there is 1.6 and it it takes me a good 10 minutes to poke around and find the “archives” that house the 1.5 version, only to be greeted with this. Seriously? You have got to be kidding me.

I suppose that’s helpful to be able to see every single version of every single product all on one page, but it sure it intimidating. Wasn’t anyone consulted on usability? What if I didn’t know exactly what I want? What’s the difference between a JRE and a JDK? Do I need both? Why do some of them come packaged together? Can I get just one and not download the whole thing? Why is version “5″ actually “1.5″ and version “6″ is “1.6″? Is there a version 2?

Setting up a working Java runtime and/or(?) JDK has always been a pain point for me in the past. It always takes at least 2 days to get something working. Why does it have to be so hard? Perhaps I am simply “doing it wrong”. Who knows.

Also, anyone who has had a JRE installed for a long period of time will have noticed the fact that after each Java update, a whole new 150MB folder magically appears on your hard drive! That is, the previous version before the update is not removed, and remains. After only 7 “updates”, Java was taking over 1GB of disk space on my machine. That is totally uncalled-for.

I’m not sure if anyone else finds this annoying, but it’s certainly been a sore spot for me

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