Develop Reference

java how to check version being used by 'jar launcher.app' on Mac OS

I have several .jar files that run successfully when opened with Mac's built in 'Jar Launcher' (Version 15.0.1) but when ran from terminal they error out.
Looking online the error messages might be down to the incorrect version of Java being linked to the terminal version, so I'd like to check if the options set for 'Jar Launcher' and the Java used within terminal are the same.
Does there exist any way to do this?

This question is two years old, but as there is no answer to it, I thought I'd put my two cents here since I've had issues myself, and have made some observations.
It seems that the Jar Launcher doesn't necessarily use the same JVM version as the one shown by the command /usr/libexec/java_home: If there is a JRE /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin, then the Jar Launcher will use it and ignore anything in /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines.
I've solve my problem of version mismatch between the Jar Launcher and the terminal by removing the JRE:
Go to /Library/Internet Plug-Ins.
Remove the JavaAppletPlugin.plugin directory by executing the rm command as a root user or by using the sudo tool.
Go to /Library/PreferencePanes.
Remove JavaControlPanel.prefpane by executing the rm command as a root user or by using the sudo tool.
Source: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/9/install/installation-jdk-and-jre-macos.htm

mvn could not find or load main class org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.launcher [duplicate]

I have installed a latest maven-3.0.4 on Windows 7:
The installation details are as follows:
Installation Path :
C:\apache-maven-3.0.4
Environment Variables are:
M2_HOME C:\apache-maven-3.0.4\apache-maven\src
JAVA_HOME C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-1.7.0_04
Path variables added are:
%M2_HOME%\bin;%JAVA_HOME%\bin;
In the command window it shows it like this:
C:\>java -version
java version "1.7.0_04"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_04-b22)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 23.0-b21, mixed mode, sharing)
C:\>mvn -version
Error: Could not find or load main class org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
This is the only version on maven installed on my PC and the solution given on many blogs referring to the deletion of the previous M2_HOME environment variable is not valid.
I have read and tried all the solutions given at blogs such as :
oracle blog,
stackoverflow question,
another stack question,
some blog,
But I'm still not able to get to it. What I might be missing in this whole thing?

I hit this problem too, and found this article. For Maven3, changing my environment variable name from M2_HOME to M3_HOME did the trick. I am on a Mac running OSX 10.9 with JDK 1.7.
Note: Please delete M2_HOME, if already set. Eg: unset M2_HOME.

Even though the question is answered I would like to add that, if you are getting the above mentioned error, be sure that you have downloaded the Binary file.
The source file should only be downloaded if you are an advanced user and that you know how to deal with it.
I have had quite a share of people downloading the wrong file, seniors and juniors

I was having this same problem and was able to resolve it by carefully redoing the Environment Variables:
M2_HOME
M2
JAVA_HOME
Also, I made them all System Variables, not User Variables like the Maven instructions say. When you
echo %Path%
Make sure you can see the %M2% and %JAVA_HOME% variables completely expanded, i.e. :
C:\Users\afairchild>echo %Path%
C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\apache-maven-3.0.4\bin;C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_09\bin; [etc]

I believe this error caused because of downloading SRC instead of BINARY from Maven site. Please make sure to download Binary zip.
Because the below path, you will get only when you download SRC:
M2_HOME C:\apache-maven-3.0.4\apache-maven\src

Had this issue on two different Ubuntu 12.04 installs, despite the installs being done by apt-get. Issue was M2_HOME.
Fixed with:
export M2_HOME=/usr/share/maven

It sounds like you installed (extracted) the source files instead of the binaries based on your path information. Try installing the binaries instead and following the other posters answer.

Well, I had this problem and after seeing this post and particularly khmarbaise answer I noticed that M2_HOME was
D:\workspace\apache-maven-3.1.0-bin\apache-maven-3.1.0\bin
and then I chaged it to
D:\workspace\apache-maven-3.1.0-bin\apache-maven-3.1.0
I would like to mention that I use windows 7 (x64)

The solution for later versions of Maven is straight-forward. I am on OS X ElCap, 10.11.6 and upgraded to Maven 3.3.9. I had the same problem with error "Could not find ...org.codehaus.plexus...". The link provided here offered the solution in a comment by McKamey - simply delete M2_HOME (unset M2_HOME). Once I tried that, it all worked as expected.
This can be confirmed by visiting the Maven install page: "Add the bin directory of the created directory apache-maven-3.3.9 to the PATH environment variable" -- no mention of M2_HOME or M3_HOME at all.

For most of the Maven setup issues something like "Could not find or load main class...", start-with below steps to see if that fixes:
Make sure you unzipped the right archive (BINARY archive and not SOURCE archive)
Remove all user and system variables related to Maven (ex. M2_HOME,M2_OPTS etc.)
Make sure JAVA_HOME system variable is setup (ex. "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_172")
Make sure java bin location is added in "path" system variable (ex. "%JAVA_HOME%\bin")
Make sure maven bin location is added in "path" system variable (ex. "C:\MyInstalls\apache-maven-3.5.4\bin")
then...
Verify java is setup (at commandprompt : java -version)
Verify maven is setup (at commandprompt : mvn --version)

Open a new terminal and do the followin
M2_HOME=/Users/macbook/apache-maven-3.6.1 //Set where maven is
M2=$M2_HOME/bin //Set home as bin
export PATH=$M2:$PATH //Place the new path
Then type
mvn -version
You can set this in ./bash_profile to do it automatically each time you run the terminal

You should change the location of the M2_HOME into the following:
set M2_HOME=C:\apache-maven-3.0.4\apache-maven
Furthermore the installation of the JDK looks more a JRE instead of JDK. For Maven you need JDK and NOT JRE.

I came across a similar problem on my mac OSX. After a series of trial and error attempts I finally resolved it.
My ~/.bash_profile looked like this
export M2_HOME=/Users/xyz/maven-3.x/bin
export PATH=$PATH:$M2_HOME
and when I tried to echo M2_HOME from the terminal, it showed me the correct path but when I tried to fire any maven command like mvn clean or mvn install, it always gave the same problem
Could not find or load main class org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
I solved this issue by changing my M2_HOME to this
export M2_HOME=/Users/xyz/maven-3.x
export PATH=$PATH:$M2_HOME/bin
And voila ! It started working ! Just by moving the position of /bin from M2_HOME to in front of the PATH

Just make sure you've downloaded Binary zip archive(apache-maven-3.5.0-bin.zip) instead of Source zip archive. Then add the bin directory of the created directory apache-maven-3.5.0 to the PATH environment variable.

install binary version of maven fixes the issues
apache-maven-3.6.1-bin.zip

I had the same issue. I have Windows xp box and when I would type mvn -version at the command line prompt I got the dreaded error message
"Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: org/codehaus/plexus/classworlds/launcher/Launcher"
I confirmed that my M2_HOME variable was set to the path where Maven was installed on pc and that the echo %path% confirmed that Maven was in my path.
I have been searching for a solution for hours when I stumbled on to my solution (I say my solution because I know this probably won't be the solution for everyone that is getting the same error).
I copied the path that was assigned to my M2_HOME variable. I opened a cmd window and typed cd and pasted the path I got from my M2_HOME variable. At that point I knew that the path was correct because the path was displayed in the window. At this point I entered the dir command and to my surprise, I got the error File Not Found.
I went to that path via Explorer and sure enough there were files present. I noticed that the folders were faded out, but I could access them and see the files within each folder (I have admin rights on my pc). I looked at the properties of the parent folder for Maven and saw that the Hidden box was checked. I removed the check and applied and tried my dir command again with success.
Next I tried the mvn –version command again, but this time I got back the expected results.
C:\>mvn -version
Apache Maven 3.0.3 (r1075438; 2011-02-28 11:31:09-0600)
Maven home: C:\Program Files\apache-maven-3.0.3
Java version: 1.5.0_16, vendor: Sun Microsystems Inc.
Java home: C:\Java\jdk1.5.0_16\jre
Default locale: en_US, platform encoding: Cp1252
OS name: "windows xp", version: "5.1", arch: "x86", family: "windows"
Finally I created a jar and war file and my web app ran successfully on my local Tomcat.
I hope this helps some of you out there.

Besides what #khmarbaise has pointed out, I think you have mistyped your JAVA_HOME. If you have installed in the default location, then there should be no "-" (hyphen) between jdk and 1.7.0_04. So it would be
JAVA_HOME C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_04

For other people who might run into this, don't forget to check ~/.mavenrc for M2_HOME or JAVA_HOME settings.

Try to download binary zip (for ex. Maven 3.0.5 (Binary zip)) instead of complete source in official maven site.
Also make sure that command line recognizes java and javac commands.
I noticed that Maven Source zip didn't include any libraries at lib folder however Binary zip had them + in boot folder it had plexus-classworlds-2.4.jar. Perhaps the problem was with the absence of these libraries. Anyway it helped me so my M2_HOME is: C:\Program Files\Java\apache-maven-3.0.5 and at PATH I put: C:\Program Files\Java\apache-maven-3.0.5\bin.

I find this issue in my centOS is caused by "Oracle Java is replace by gcj", after change default java to "Oracle Java", the issue is resolved.
alternatives --config java
There are 2 programs which provide 'java'.
Selection Command
-----------------------------------------------
* 1 /usr/lib/jvm/jre-1.5.0-gcj/bin/java
+ 2 /usr/java/jdk1.7.0_67/bin/java

It look like that you have installed Source files(Because src only comes in Source Files and we don't need it). Try to install Binary Files from
there.
And then set environment variables as described
there.
This worked for me. And I am sure it will also work for you.

I think you download the wrong version.
I meet this problem just now, no method work after searching and searching.
Finally, I found that maven I downloaded is Source zip archive.
After I change to Binary zip archive, everything go to be fine.

Me too faced the similar issue. But in my case I used apache-maven-3.3.3-src folder in path variables. Later I corrected those with correct path of folder apache-maven-3.3.3-bin. This resolved the issue. Am not telling that is the same error reported here but this way also you can get this error and rectify it. That is what I am trying to say here.

Exactly the same error may appear even with correct environment variable settings, if you copy ONLY bin directory to the installation directory.
It make which work finely, and novices get stuck.

Next to the maybe useful, but maybe too symptomatic answers, here is one which tries to help to find the cause of the problem.
Maven is a command-line java tool. That means, it is not a standalone binary, it is a collection of java .jars, interpreted by a jvm (java.exe on windows, java on linux).
The mvn command, is a script. On windows, it is a script called mvn.cmd and on linux, it is a shell script. Thus, if you write: mvn install, what will happen:
a command interpreter (/bin/sh or cmd.exe) is called for the actual invoking script
this script sets the needed environment variables
and finally, it calls a java interpreter with the the required classpath which contain the maven functionality.
The problem is with (2). Fortunately, this script is simply, very simple. For a java programmer it shouldn't be a big trouble to debug a script around 20 lines, even if it is a little bit alien language.
On linux, you can debug shellscripts giving the -x flag to your shell interpreter (which is most probably bash). On windows, you have to find some other way to debug a cmd.exe script. So, instead of mvn install, give the command bash -x mvn install.
The result be like:
+ '[' -z '' ']'
+ '[' -f /etc/mavenrc ']'
+ '[' -f /home/picsa/.mavenrc ']'
+ cygwin=true
+ darwin=false
...not so many things...
+ MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR='C:\peter\bin'
+ export MAVEN_PROJECTBASEDIR
+ MAVEN_CMD_LINE_ARGS=' '
+ export MAVEN_CMD_LINE_ARGS
+ exec '/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Java/jdk1.8.0_66/bin/java' -classpath 'C:\peter/boot/plexus-classworlds-*.jar' '-Dclassworlds.conf=C:\peter/bin/m2.conf' '-Dmaven.home=C:\peter' '-Dmaven.multiModuleProjectDirectory=C:\peter\bin' org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
Fehler: Hauptklasse org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher konnte nicht gefunden oder geladen werden
At the end, you can easily test, which environment variable gone bad, and you can very easily fix your script (or set it what is needed).

I had this problem when I used Maven 3.5.4 on OpenJDK 11 on Ubuntu. The OpenJDK 11 on Ubuntu is actually still a JDK10:
$ ls -al /etc/alternatives/java
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 43 Aug 24 04:54 /etc/alternatives/java -> /usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64/bin/java
$ java --version
openjdk 10.0.2 2018-07-17
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 10.0.2+13-Ubuntu-1ubuntu0.18.04.3)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 10.0.2+13-Ubuntu-1ubuntu0.18.04.3, mixed mode)
I installed OpenJDK from Oracle into /opt/jdk-11.0.1 and run Maven like this:
JAVA_HOME=/opt/jdk-11.0.1 mvn
It now works like a charm.

I had a problem with surefire plugin itself. Going back to version 2.6 worked for me. Version 2.18/20/22.1 gave me the error.
Now I tried version 3.0.0-M1 of surefire plugin and it works.
So something is wrong in surefire plgin between version 2.6 and 3.0.0. I assume there is something hardcoded as default which should not.

For me, funny as it sounds, it helped just restarting eclipse...

This worked for me:
Remove all Mavin references in Environment Variables
Download the Binary from mavin
Unzip it to where you'd like ex: C:\apache-maven-3.6.0
Go to Environment variables and add to System variable path "C:\apache-maven-3.6.0\bin"
start command prompt as Administrator
check version with: mvn -v
CMD Result:
Apache Maven 3.6.0 (97c98ec64a1fdfee7767ce5ffb20918da4f719f3; 2018-10-24T20:41:47+02:00)
Maven home: C:\apache-maven-3.6.0\bin..

I also faced the following Error in my system (Mac)
Error: Could not find or load main class org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
After doing some random browsing, I came across the link "http://maven.apache.org/install.html" that says "JAVA_HOME" should be set to "/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_45.jdk/Contents/Home/jre".
When I changed "JAVA_HOME" as stated above in ".bash_profile", "mvn" command started working but "javac -version" command stopped working.
When I typed "javac -version" command, I got the following error
Unable to locate an executable at "/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_45.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/bin/javac" (-1)
Hence I rolled back my "JAVA_HOME" to "/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_45.jdk/Contents/Home" in ".bash_profile" and added the following line at the top in "mvn" script
export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_45.jdk/Contents/Home/jre
Now both "mvn" and "javac" commands worked properly, but after careful observation of the mvn script, I could not make the difference between the following commands
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_45.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java -classpath /Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1/boot/plexus-classworlds-2.6.0.jar -Dclassworlds.conf=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1/bin/m2.conf -Dmaven.home=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1 -Dlibrary.jansi.path=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1/lib/jansi-native -Dmaven.multiModuleProjectDirectory=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1/bin org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_45.jdk/Contents/Home/jre/bin/java -classpath /Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1/boot/plexus-classworlds-2.6.0.jar -Dclassworlds.conf=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1/bin/m2.conf -Dmaven.home=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1 -Dlibrary.jansi.path=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1/lib/jansi-native -Dmaven.multiModuleProjectDirectory=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1/bin org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
In the above the first command caused the following error
Error: Could not find or load main class org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher
while the second command worked fine.
Please Note that both the above paths have "java" command while one is from "jre" the other is from "jdk"
Other global variables are as following in ".bash_profile"
export M2_HOME=/Users/venkatarajeevmandava/Documents/Maven/apache-maven-3.6.1
export PATH=$PATH:$M2_HOME/bin

Was able to solve this issue by deleting the downloaded maven in my machine ( /Users/kkohli/Desktop/Personal/Code/Java/apache-maven-3.6.3 ) and re-downloading the binary version from the apache site. Did not modify any other bashprofile file etc ( My M2_HOME, JAVA_HOME etc are set inside my bashprofile)

Set PATH and JAVA_HOME in Fedora 25

Please excuse what appears to be a question answered before, but if I read 10 different posts I find 20 different responses.
I just installed Fedora 25. I am going to be learning Java development and need to set up my environment. I will be using openjdk and have installed java-1.8.0-openjdk-devel. I will also be using Maven.
Now I need to set my $PATH and $JAVA_HOME variables.
I tried the answer found here (Fedora OpenJDK Set JAVA_HOME)
but after adding to my .bashrc
export JAVA_HOME=$(readlink -f /usr/bin/java | sed "s:bin/java::")
and then testing, I get what appears to me to be the wrong answer because I do not think there should be a /jre/ on the end
> echo $JAVA_HOME
/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.121-1.b14.fc25.x86_64/jre/
So can I please ask what I should set JAVA_HOME to so that I do not need to update it with every openjdk update?
After that I think PATH is just
export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
this seems like such a straightforward thing to do yet it seems to me there is much confusion. thx
PS
also, is .bashrc even the correct place? because I see here (https://askubuntu.com/questions/175514/how-to-set-java-home-for-java) that /etc/environment would be more appropriate) thx

I suggest create an alias command, modifying bashrc and set JAVA_HOME
into bash_profile, this:
Create command in the bashrc:
alias set-java='sudo alternatives --config java;export JAVA_HOME=$(readlink -f /usr/bin/java | sed "s:bin/java::");source ~/.bash_profile'
Save and execute: source ~/.bashrc
Create generic JAVA_HOME in bash_profile:
export JAVA_HOME=$(readlink -f /usr/bin/java | sed "s:bin/java::")
PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
Execute the alias command

Set JAVA_HOME :
echo "JAVA_HOME=/etc/alternatives/jre" >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile
echo $JAVA_HOME

I put the following in ~/.profile, not ~/.bashrc and I think it's the same on Fedora (I used CentOS at work and do the same):
export JDK_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64
export JAVA_HOME=$JDK_HOME/jre
I have to either sign out or reboot after changing .profile.
On Ubuntu, java only changed from 7 to 8 a few years ago. I don't know why Fedora would want to put an exact version number on the java folder. You might complain?
If Java moves around too much for you on Fedora, use a symlink. The symlink takes affect right away, without logging out or rebooting. On my laptop, I encrypt my home folder, so for extra speed, I put most third party tools in a /tools/ folder and give myself account access to it (sudo chown -R myself.myself /tools/ where myself is my user ID). That's where I put my maven install. Tomcat uses a different directory name for each release, so I make a symlink like so:
cd /tools
ln -s apache-tomcat-8.0.38 latest-tomcat
Then in ~/.profile (CATALINA means TOMCAT in this example - don't ask me why):
# My un-encrypted Tools folder
export TOOLS=/tools
# Tomcat
export CATALINA_HOME=$TOOLS/latest-tomcat
# Maven
export M2_HOME=$TOOLS/apache-maven-3.3.9/
export M2="$M2_HOME"bin
export PATH=$PATH:$M2
When I upgrade tomcat:
cd /tools
rm -f latest-tomcat
ln -s apache-tomcat-8.0.39 latest-tomcat
You can use the same technique to make a /usr/lib/jvm/latest-java. In fact, if you install Oracle Java (not necessarily recommended), it does exactly that, for this reason.
Yes, what you said about the path looks correct to me. I don't put java in my path, preferring to use $JDK_HOME, $JAVA_HOME, or just calling maven. Part of that is for security. Part of it is to feel like I always know which version of Java I'm using.
P.S. To me, the ln -s syntax always looks as if the arguments are reversed. The actual folder name goes first, followed by your desired alias/link.

OpenJDK bundled with Fedora dosen't work for me. For example IntelliJ can't use this version. In my opinion, best option is to install Oracle JDK RPM from Oracle.
JDK location:
/usr/java/latest/
To manipilate JRE use command below:
sudo alternatives --config java

So far, this gets Android Studio running using the Fedora provided OpenJDK and respects the distribution provided materials without a bunch of otherwise unmanaged symlinking:
vim ~/.bash_profile
Add the following, or replace any existing examples that look similar to it:
export JAVA_HOME=$(readlink -f /usr/bin/java | cut -d/ -f1-6)
The command basically asks for the physical path that the symlink /usr/bin/java points to (configured by alternatives in Fedora), and then says "take the first 6 fields given to you by splitting on the / character."
Note that your $PATH will already be set up correctly for use with the Fedora provided OpenJDK.
In practice, this ends up looking like:
/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.191.b12-8.fc28.x86_64/jre
This assumes you have at least one of the OpenJDK packages Fedora ships. 25 probably only shipped 1.8, 28 ships 1.8, 10.0.2, and 11.0.1. (if you're reading this and still using 25, it's probably time to upgrade.)
Install one of the java-*-openjdk-headless packages available to you (or one of the Oracle provided ones), and configure which one to use using:
sudo alternatives --config java
The default on my Fedora 28 install was to use OpenJDK 1.8.

Sadly I don't have Fedora available for me, so I can't investigate how Java is usually installed, but why you don't try to replace /usr/bin/java in your expression with something like /usr/bin/javac? The actual path to javac link you can get with
which javac
And read the real path with readlink. Obviously, it works if JDK is installed (not JRE).
About updating, most of Linux distros create a symbolic link like /usr/lib/jvm which is set to the correct directory and update in case of new version. For me better solution it to put this path in your bashrc.
And yes, bashrc is usually enough if you don't need JAVA_HOME to be visible to other OS users.

Maybe adding a tr could work? export JAVA_HOME=$(readlink -f /usr/bin/java | sed "s:bin/java::" | tr -d "/jre/") ?
Also, setting it in your env var will make the var independent from the sh your using. That's a great way to store It.

Oracle SqlDeveloper JDK path

I have recently installed sqldeveloper but i'm getting the below warning window when I try to launch it. This is causing the sqldeveloper to run very very slow and it hangs frequently
I have tried editing the file sqldeveloper.cong as suggested in the window above but does not work
Original
SetJavaHome ../../jdk
Update 1
SetJavaHome C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_60\bin\ and all other variations but still getting the above warning window
Update 2
SetJavaHome C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7\bin and all other variations
Please suggest the correct way

The message seems to be out of date. In version 4 that setting exists in two files, and you need to change it in the other one, which is:
%APPDATA%\sqldeveloper\1.0.0.0.0\product.conf
Which you might need to expand to your actual APPDATA, which will be something like C:\Users\cprasad\AppData\Roaming. In that file you will see the SetJavaHome is currently going to be set to the path to your Java 1.8 location, so change that as you did in the sqldeveloper.conf:
SetJavaHome C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_60\bin\
If the settig is blank (in both files, I think) then it should prompt you to pick the JDK location when you launch it, if you prefer.

another thing you could try is to rename your old jdk folder, lets say its:
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_04
change it to saomething like:
C:\Program Files\Java\xxxjdk1.7.0_04
Now, you should once again asked to set your jdk folder location on Oracle SqlDeveloper launch, and you can chose the right path.
Not the most elegant solution, but it worked for me.
Milos

In your SQL Developer Bin Folder find
\sqldeveloper\bin\sqldeveloper.conf
It should be
SetJavaHome \path\to\jdk
You said it was ../../jdk originally so you could ultimatey do 1 of two things:
SetJavaHome C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_60
This is assuming that you have JDK 1.7.60 installed in that directory; you don't want to point it to the bin folder you want the whole JDK folder.
OR
The second thing you can do is find the jdk folder in the sqldeveloper folder for me its sqldeveloper\jdk and copy and paste the contents from C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_60. You then have to revert your change to read
SetJavaHome ../../jdk
in your sqldeveloper.conf
If all else fails you can always redownload the sqldeveloper that already contains the jdk7 all zipped up and ready for you to run at will: Download SQL Developer The file I talk about is called Windows 64-bit - zip file includes the JDK 7

I cannot believe Oracle's documentation is SO LAME! In some documents it is misleading people to point to the JDK by specifying the path to the JDK root, e.g. on a Mac:
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_151.jdk/
Reviewing /Applications/SQLDeveloper.app/Contents/MacOS/sqldeveloper.sh
revealed the method they use to set up the path:
TMP_PATH=/usr/libexec/java_home -F -v 9
if [ -z "$TMP_PATH" ] ; then
TMP_PATH=/usr/libexec/java_home -F -v 1.8
if [ -z "$TMP_PATH" ] ; then
osascript -e 'tell app "System Events" to display dialog "SQL Developer requires a minimum of Java 8. \nJava 8 can be downloaded from:\n http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/"'
exit 1
fi
fi
Executing this manually from Terminal:
/usr/libexec/java_home -F -v 1.8
Lists the path as:
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_152.jdk/Contents/Home
And this is what you need to specify as the value for
SetJavaHome /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_152.jdk/Contents/Home
Thank you Oracle for wasting half a day on your "product" that does NOT even support your latest Java version, also released by you.

On Windows,Close all the SQL Developer windows. Then You need to completely delete the SQL Developer and sqldeveloper folders located in user/AppData/Roaming. Finally, run the program, you will be prompted for new JDK.
Note that AppData is a hidden folder.

For those who use Mac, edit this file:
/Applications/SQLDeveloper.app/Contents/MacOS/sqldeveloper.sh
Mine had:
export JAVA_HOME=`/usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.7`
and I changed it to 1.8 and it stopped complaining about java version.

if you use sqldeveloper 18.2.0
edit %APPDATA%\sqldeveloper\18.2.0\product.conf
jdk9, jdk10, and jdk11 are not supported
change back to jdk 8
for example
SetJavaHome C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.191-1

What is the correct target for the JAVA_HOME environment variable for a Linux OpenJDK Debian-based distribution?

In Windows, JAVA_HOME must point to the JDK installation folder (so that JAVA_HOME/bin contains all executables and JAVA_HOME/libs contains all default jar libraries).
If I download Sun's JDK bundle and installs it in Linux, it is the same procedure.
However, I need to use Kubuntu's default OpenJDK package. The problem is that all executables are placed in /usr/bin. But the jars are placed in /usr/share/java. Since they are not under the same JAVA_HOME folder I'm having trouble with Grails and maybe there will be trouble with other applications that expect the standard Java structure.
If I use:
JAVA_HOME=/usr
All applications and scripts that want to use any Java executable can use the standard procedure call $JAVA_HOME/bin/executable. However, since the jars are in a different place, they are not always found (example: in grails I'm getting ClassDefNotFound for native2ascii).
On the other hand, if I use:
JAVA_HOME=/usr/share/java
None of the Java executables (java, javac, etc.) can be found.
So, what is the correct way of handling the JAVA_HOME variable in a Debian-based Linux?
Thanks for your help,
Luis

What finally worked for me (Grails now works smoothly) is doing almost like Steve B. has pointed out:
JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/default-java
This way if the user changes the default JDK for the system, JAVA_HOME still works.
default-java is a symlink to the current JVM.

If you use alternatives to manage multiple java versions, you can set the JAVA_HOME based on the symlinked java (or javac) like this:
export JAVA_HOME=$(readlink -f /usr/bin/java | sed "s:bin/java::")

The standard Ubuntu install seems to put the various Java versions in /usr/lib/jvm. The javac, java you find in your path will softlink to this.
There's no issue with installing your own Java version anywhere you like, as long as you set the JAVA_HOME environment variable and make sure to have the new Java bin on your path.
A simple way to do this is to have the Java home exist as a softlink, so that if you want to upgrade or switch versions you only have to change the directory that this points to - e.g.:
/usr/bin/java --> /opt/jdk/bin/java,
/opt/jdk --> /opt/jdk1.6.011

I modified one of the solution above and this seems to work no matter where java is installed, as long it's in your PATH.
JAVA_HOME=$( j=$( readlink -f $(which java) ) ; echo ${j%%/bin/java} )

I usually don't have any JAVA_HOME environment variable. Java can set it up itself. Inside java java.home system property should be available.

Try setting the JAVA_LIB variable also.

If you have issues with JAR files not being found I would also ensure your CLASSPATH is set to include the location of those files. I do find however that the CLASSPATH often needs to be set differently for different programs and often ends up being something to set uniquely for individual programs.

Updated answer that will solve your problem and also just a general good how-to for installing Oracle Java 7 on Ubuntu can be found here: http://www.wikihow.com/Install-Oracle-Java-on-Ubuntu-Linux

I've discovered similar problems with the openjdk-6-jre and openjdk-6-jre-headless packages in Ubuntu.
My problem was solved by purging the openjdk-6-jre and openjdk-6-jre-headless packages and re-installing. The alternatives are only updated on a fresh install of the openjdk-6-jre and openjdk-6-jre-headless packages.
Below is a sample of installing after purging:
aptitude purge openjdk-6-jre openjdk-6-jre-headless # to ensure no configuration exists
aptitude install --without-recommends openjdk-6-jre # Installing without some extras
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Reading extended state information
Initializing package states... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
ca-certificates-java{a} java-common{a} libavahi-client3{a} libavahi-common-data{a} libavahi-common3{a} libcups2{a} libflac8{a} libgif4{a} libnspr4-0d{a} libnss3-1d{a} libogg0{a} libpulse0{a} libsndfile1{a} libvorbis0a{a} libvorbisenc2{a} libxi6{a} libxtst6{a}
openjdk-6-jre openjdk-6-jre-headless{a} openjdk-6-jre-lib{a} tzdata-java{a}
The following packages are RECOMMENDED but will NOT be installed:
icedtea-6-jre-cacao icedtea-netx ttf-dejavu-extra
0 packages upgraded, 21 newly installed, 0 to remove and 119 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B/34.5MB of archives. After unpacking 97.6MB will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n/?]
Writing extended state information... Done
Selecting previously deselected package openjdk-6-jre-lib.
(Reading database ... 62267 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking openjdk-6-jre-lib (from .../openjdk-6-jre-lib_6b24-1.11.5-0ubuntu1~10.04.2_all.deb) ...
...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Setting up tzdata-java (2012e-0ubuntu0.10.04) ...
...
Setting up openjdk-6-jre-headless (6b24-1.11.5-0ubuntu1~10.04.2) ...
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/java to provide /usr/bin/java (java) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/keytool to provide /usr/bin/keytool (keytool) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/pack200 to provide /usr/bin/pack200 (pack200) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/rmid to provide /usr/bin/rmid (rmid) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/rmiregistry to provide /usr/bin/rmiregistry (rmiregistry) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/unpack200 to provide /usr/bin/unpack200 (unpack200) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/orbd to provide /usr/bin/orbd (orbd) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/servertool to provide /usr/bin/servertool (servertool) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/tnameserv to provide /usr/bin/tnameserv (tnameserv) in auto mode.
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/jexec to provide /usr/bin/jexec (jexec) in auto mode.
Setting up openjdk-6-jre (6b24-1.11.5-0ubuntu1~10.04.2) ...
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/policytool to provide /usr/bin/policytool (policytool) in auto mode.
...
You can see above that update-alternatives is run to set up links for the various Java binaries.
After this install, there are also links in /usr/bin, links in /etc/alternatives, and files for each binary in /var/lib/dpkg/alternatives.
ls -l /usr/bin/java /etc/alternatives/java /var/lib/dpkg/alternatives/java
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 40 2013-01-16 14:44 /etc/alternatives/java -> /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/bin/java
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 22 2013-01-16 14:44 /usr/bin/java -> /etc/alternatives/java
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 158 2013-01-16 14:44 /var/lib/dpkg/alternatives/java
Let's contast this with installing without purging.
aptitude remove openjdk-6-jre
aptitude install --without-recommends openjdk-6-jre
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Reading extended state information
Initializing package states... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
ca-certificates-java{a} java-common{a} libavahi-client3{a} libavahi-common-data{a} libavahi-common3{a} libcups2{a} libflac8{a} libgif4{a} libnspr4-0d{a} libnss3-1d{a} libogg0{a} libpulse0{a} libsndfile1{a} libvorbis0a{a} libvorbisenc2{a} libxi6{a} libxtst6{a}
openjdk-6-jre openjdk-6-jre-headless{a} openjdk-6-jre-lib{a} tzdata-java{a}
The following packages are RECOMMENDED but will NOT be installed:
icedtea-6-jre-cacao icedtea-netx ttf-dejavu-extra
0 packages upgraded, 21 newly installed, 0 to remove and 119 not upgraded.
Need to get 0B/34.5MB of archives. After unpacking 97.6MB will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n/?]
Writing extended state information... Done
Selecting previously deselected package openjdk-6-jre-lib.
(Reading database ... 62293 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking openjdk-6-jre-lib (from .../openjdk-6-jre-lib_6b24-1.11.5-0ubuntu1~10.04.2_all.deb) ...
...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
...
Setting up openjdk-6-jre-headless (6b24-1.11.5-0ubuntu1~10.04.2) ...
Setting up openjdk-6-jre (6b24-1.11.5-0ubuntu1~10.04.2) ...
...
As you see, update-alternatives is not triggered.
After this install, there are no files for the Java binaries in /var/lib/dpkg/alternatives, no links in /etc/alternatives, and no links in /usr/bin.
The removal of the files in /var/lib/dpkg/alternatives also breaks update-java-alternatives.

Ubuntu 12.04 this works...
JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk-i386/jre

As an update for fedora user , alternatives set current java directory to
/usr/java/default
so you have to set your JAVA_HOME to /usr/java/default to always have alternatives curent selection in your classpath
HTH !

I always tend to set the JAVA_HOME according to the /usr/bin/java.
JAVA_HOME="$(dirname -- "$(dirname -- "$(readlink -f /usr/bin/java)")")"
This way, both alternatives point to the same location

As far as I remember, I used the update-java-alternatives script instead of the update-alternatives. And it did set the JAVA_HOME for me correctly.

Please see what the update-alternatives command does (it has a nice man...).
Shortly - what happens when you have java-sun-1.4 and java-opensouce-1.0 ... which one takes "java"? It debian "/usr/bin/java" is symbolic link and "/usr/bin/java-sun-1.4" is an alternative to "/usr/bin/java"
Edit:
As Richard said, update-alternatives is not enough. You actually need to use update-java-alternatives. More info at:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Java

My correct target has always been to download it from Sun and just install it that way. Then you know exactly what directory everything goes in.
But if you'd prefer to stick with the odd way that Debian installs it, my best guess would be the parent directory just above where the java and javac binaries are located.
(since when you specify it in your path it's $JAVA_HOME/bin)
(So in your case it would be ... $JAVA_HOME/share and $JAVA_HOME would be /usr ?)
Eh, that doesn't sound right...
I'm interested to hear the answer to this too!