How do I install Java on Mac OSX allowing version switching?

Question

I want to install OpenJDK Java on Mac OSX and have it work alongside other JDK\'s since it is a newer release. Currently, I downloaded the tar.gz and placed it in my path b

Answer 1

This answer extends on Jayson's excellent answer with some more opinionated guidance on the best approach for your use case:

• SDKMAN is the best solution for most users. It's easy to use, doesn't have any weird configuration, and makes managing multiple versions for lots of other Java ecosystem projects easy as well.
• Downloading Java versions via Homebrew and switching versions via jenv is a good option, but requires more work. For example, the Homebrew commands in this highly upvoted answer don't work anymore. jenv is slightly harder to setup, the plugins aren't well documented, and the README says the project is looking for a new maintainer. jenv is still a great project, solves the job, and the community should be thankful for the wonderful contribution. SDKMAN is just the better option cause it's so great.
• Jabba is written is a multi-platform solution that provides the same interface on Mac, Windows, and PC (it's written in Go and that's what allows it to be multiplatform). If you care about a multiplatform solution, this is a huge selling point. If you only care about running multiple versions on your Mac, then you don't need a multiplatform solution. SDKMAN's support for tens of popular SDKs is what you're missing out on if you go with Jabba.

Managing versions manually is probably the worst option. If you decide to manually switch versions, you can use this Bash code instead of Jayson's verbose code (code snippet from the homebrew-openjdk README:

jdk() {
        version=$1
        export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v"$version");
        java -version
 }

Jayson's answer provides the basic commands for SDKMAN and jenv. Here's more info on SDKMAN and more info on jenv if you'd like more background on these tools.