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[Thierry Carrez <thierry.carrez@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Yes, "default-jdk" just installs a link from /usr/lib/jvm/default-java
to openJDK6.

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Default Java paths aren't set up by default
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/518948
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Status in “openjdk-6” package in Ubuntu: Invalid
Status in “sun-java6” package in Ubuntu: Invalid

Bug description:
I did not file this bug against a package as it seems to be more like an infra-structure problem.

If I install the Sun Java Developer Kit ('sun-java6-jdk') it gets installed in '/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun'. Most 3rd party applications look for this in '/usr/lib/jvm/default-java'. The standard solution is to create a symbolic link from  '/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun'  to  '/usr/lib/jvm/default-java'. This is, however, not done automatically unless I install the 'default-jdk' package which installs the 'openjdk-6-jdk' package. So, if I only want the Sun JDK I have to manually create the symlink. This link does not seem to be create by 'sudo update-java-alternatives -s java-6-sun' unless I install the 'default-jdk' package.

Okay, this description was a bit convoluted, but the problem itself seems to be rather convoluted. I would have expected the following behavior:

  * When I install _any_ JDK the corresponding  '/usr/lib/jvm/default-java' if it does not already exist.

  * When I run 'sudo update-java-alternatives -s java-6-sun' I would expect  '/usr/lib/jvm/default-java' to be created even if I don't have the 'default-jdk' package installed.