I want to be able to compile and run java programs from my /home directory. I have tried setting the environment variables by typing the following in the command prompt:

PATH=$PATH:/usr/java/j2sdk1.4.2_05/bin
JAVA_HOME=/usr/java/j2sdk1.4.2_05
export PATH

It works fine at first. I type

java -version

and it returns:

java version "1.4.2_05"
Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2_05-b04)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.2_05-b04, mixed mode)

When I exit the command terminal it no longer works. I type java -version and it returns:

bash: java: command not found

How can I get this to work so I can always run java programs from my /home directory?

Thanks,
John

Environment variables set at the terminal are only set for that given terminal window.

You want to set them in your ~/.bash_profile