I have downloaded the newest J2SDK from Suns website.
I CHMOD it (a+x) and install it.
It seems to install with no errors.
Anytime I try to type a command (java, javac etc...) it comes back:

linux:/home/tkinsella/j2re1.4.2_10 # cd bin
linux:/home/tkinsella/j2re1.4.2_10/bin # java
bash: java: command not found
linux:/home/tkinsella/j2re1.4.2_10/bin # javac
bash: javac: command not found
linux:/home/tkinsella/j2re1.4.2_10/bin #
linux:/home/tkinsella/j2re1.4.2_10/bin #

Anythoughts? Thanks!

Your java directory is not in $PATH, use ./java and ./javac instead or add the directory to yout $PATH:

PATH=$PATH:/home/tkinsella/j2re1.4.2_10/bin

this in your ~/.bashrc will make it permanent. Do you have a particular reason to have it installed under your home directory? /usr/lib or such would seem like a better place to me.

I tried using those commands and adding it to my $PATH and re-installing it in my /usr/lib and I still get the same error messsage that it cannot be found.

Because you've done a mistake, but there is no way to figure it out if you do not write precisely what you did.

Show us:
your path: echo $PATH
the java command location: ls -l /somewhere/bin/java
the command you enter: java
the error message you got: ?

tkinsella@linux:~> echo $PATH
/home/tkinsella/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/bin:/usr/games:/opt/gnome/bin:/opt/kde3/bin:/usr/lib/mit/bin:/usr/lib/mit/sbin:/home/tkinsella/j2re1.4.2_10/bin
tkinsella@linux:~>

tkinsella@linux:~/jdk1.5.0_06/bin> ls -l
total 3016
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72760 2005-11-10 14:19 appletviewer
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 13:51 apt
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4153 2005-11-10 14:47 ControlPanel
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:31 extcheck
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1080 2005-11-10 14:47 HtmlConverter
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 13:58 idlj
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:01 jar
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:00 jarsigner
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 64812 2005-11-10 13:48 java
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 13:49 javac
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 13:50 javadoc
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 13:51 javah
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:22 javap
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root root 1789 2005-11-10 14:20 java-rmi.cgi
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 175978 2005-11-10 14:47 javaws
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:24 jconsole
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:33 jdb
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:23 jinfo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:23 jmap
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:23 jps
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:24 jsadebugd
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:24 jstack
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:23 jstat
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:23 jstatd
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:00 keytool
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:00 kinit
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:01 klist
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:01 ktab
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:22 native2ascii
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:26 orbd
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:27 pack200
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72760 2005-11-10 14:00 policytool
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:20 rmic
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:21 rmid
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:20 rmiregistry
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:23 serialver
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:26 servertool
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 72752 2005-11-10 14:26 tnameserv
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 394235 2005-11-10 14:26 unpack200

tkinsella@linux:~/jdk1.5.0_06/bin> javac
bash: javac: command not found

Next time, rather than installing a big self-contained package into /usr/lib, consider
putting it into /opt (you'll have to create that directory if it's not already there).
You don't want to pollute your system directories (like /usr/lib) with big third-party
packages like that.

If you don't have root access, and if you've got some room on the /home partition, many
folks create an ~/opt directory there (right in their home directory).

In this opt dir, you end up with something like:

opt/java

opt/mysql

opt/other_big_selfcontained_package

And if you prefer installing other sundry software in there as well (say, you don't have
room on /usr/local, or don't have write access), just ./configure --prefix=/path/to/opt/local
to get a directory structure like:

opt/local/bin

opt/local/lib

opt/local/man

opt/local/src

opt/local/include

opt/local/doc

This way, the opt dir stays pretty clean and organized.

BTW, I think you only want to add exported environment variable changes to your
~/.bash_profile, not your ~/.bashrc. The .bash_profile gets sourced once when you
log in. The .bashrc gets sourced every time you go into a subshell.

If you put things like "export PATH=/path/to/some/bin:$PATH" into your .bashrc,
then that PATH variable gets fiddled with everytime you enter a subshell. Not
a big deal, of course.

The .bashrc is more for adding aliases, and setting variables that are
constantly changing, like PS1.

How do you want the shell to find javac if you give it a wrong PATH ?

Yes, of course you must add the path to the directory that actually matches the version you have installed.

Ok, I changed the path and the Java command is the only one that works. Javac still will not.
I tried to install to ./opt and I get this error:
bash: ./j2sdk-1_4_2_10-linux-i586.rpm: cannot execute binary file.
I am running as root.

now you are using an rpm package - some posts above this was:
1. not clear
2. another version (jdk1.5.0_06)

make sure you get rid of all the files from previous attempts to install it - and clean out your $PATH
you can adjust it again if the version you want to install now is installed
If it is an rpm and you are not on Debian Knoppix or Ubuntu...(deb) this should be installed via package-manager instead of doing it manually - it's much easier this way...
What distribution are you running?
BTW: I remember that the binary distributions always had instructions with them on how to set them up and add the binary to your PATH

OK. I was using SUSE 10 and just switched over to RedHat 9 (Shrike) and every problem (Except my wireless card ) works!

type the following in.

PATH=$PATH:/usr/java/jdk1.5.0_06/bin

and your problem is solved.

However, this is assuming your using jdk1.5.0_06. To make sure do the following

cd /usr/java/

ls -l

jdk.1.???? (this is the directory that will be the version)

if the directory as the same as my example then your fine. If not make the changes to the directory we put into the path.

later

This is is your PATH is containing a jre and not a jdk, but you failed again to provide clues about what is installed, what is set, what you run and what you got ...

A JRE is only containing the runtime (java), while a JDK is containing the development tools in addition (javac).

Sorry... somebody above said what I said...