Ptolemy II 10.0 requires Java 1.6 (also known as Java 6) or later because ptdb uses javax.swing.GroupLayout. Also, Java 1.5 is past its end of life. Java 1.7 (also known as Java 7) and Java 1.8 will work.
The development version available via svn is best built with Java 1.8. See below for details.
In January, 2015, the core of development version can be build with Java 1.6 by running configure, but this is not supported or tested. Over time, Java 1.6 is less likely to work.
The full development version of Ptolemy II requires Java 1.7 because particleFiltering uses type inference for generic instance creation and catches multiple exceptions. Over time, more and more code will require Java 1.7 and Java 1.8.
Note that the core of Ptolemy that is used by Kepler can be built with Java 1.7. To use Java 1.7 would require excluding ptolemy/actor/lib/jjs and org/ptolemy/machineLearning. The core of Ptolemy II is built using Java 1.7 on a nightly basis as part of the Kepler build.
The development version of Ptolemy II requires Java 1.8 to use Nashorn in ptolemy/actor/lib/jjs and IntStream in org/ptolemy/machineLearning. Over time, more and more code will require Java 1.8. The
$PTII/build.default.xmlworks best with Java 1.8The Oracle (formerly Sun) Java Development Kit (JDK) is preferred.
The IBM JDK will work under Linux.
OpenJDK may work with Ptolemy II, but could have problems with Kepler.
To determine which version of Java is being run, start up a Terminal window by going to Application -> Utilities and clicking on the Terminal icon.
Then type:
java -version
If you are building Ptolemy II 10.0 and running Java 1.6 or later, then go to the next step.
If you are building the development version of Ptolemy II and you are running Java 1.8 or later, then go to the next step.
If you are building the development version of Ptolemy II and running Java 1.7 or earlier, then go to http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html and install Java 1.8, then go to the next step.