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Apple's latest Mac devices, powered by the M-series ARM64 processors, are gaining popularity among developers, designers, and tech enthusiasts. While the new technology offers impressive performance, setting up a Java development environment on these Macs can present some challenges, especially during the initial setup phase.
Developing and testing Java applications on Apple's latest devices is both feasible and efficient. However, it requires a few workarounds, careful initial setup, and some insider tips and tricks.
Our top Java development companies are well-versed in addressing these challenges. With decades of combined experience, they can quickly build and optimize Java software for your organization.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to set up and use a Java build environment on modern Apple devices. We’ll cover the tools and resources you need, potential pitfalls, and solutions to enhance your Java development experience.
Java Development for Mac M1
In November 2020 Apple released the first machines in their Mac line-up to include Arm-based M1 processors. This move marked a departure from the Intel processors the company had been using since late 2006. This change in design is much more than swapping one type of processor for another.
The M1 chip differs from conventional processors as a complete SoC (system on a chip) solution. The M1 integrated CPU, GPU, memory, controllers, and a whole host of additional systems into a single unified chip.
The advantage of this approach is in allowing for exceptional performance, resource sharing, and a host of related solutions that take advantage of this technology to come in the near future. The short-term drawbacks, however, come primarily in the hardware and software compatibility issues that arise in changing from Intel's x64 architecture to Arm's aarch64 solution.
For developers, these compatibility issues are something that many haven't had to deal with for quite some time. For some, it will be the first time in their careers that this issue has ever come up in such a big way. Yet, despite being an initial nuisance of new technology this hurdle is one well worth overcoming to reach the performance advantages that the M1 can unlock. The first step to reaching these advantages is building the tools and technologies necessary to get there.
Installing Java for Mac
Install Java Development Tools
The first thing Java needs to begin developing for Mac is the JDK (Java development kit). Here, our usual approach would be to install the readily available openJDK tools on our machine. For the aarch64 architecture, we have to rely on one of the many available JDK vendors offering an aarch64 build of the OpenJDK not yet directly available. Luckily, there are several good options to choose from:
Each option is roughly equivalent for the purposes of building and getting started creating Java software for Mac. Simply download and install any one of these available options. There are no practical differences in the installation process compared to older mac, Linux, or Windows devices.
Setup the Environment
With Java installed on your system, we have all the ingredients in place to begin writing Java software. First, we have to put them together in the right order. The first step is finding out where Java has been installed and pointing our system to the right directory to retrieve the language tools and resources necessary for Java development tools to run.
Open the terminal and type:
- /usr/libexec/java_home
Then press enter. This command will display the directory that Java has been installed to on your system. You want to copy the file path provided and edit either: .zshenv for Z Shell users, or .bashrc for Bash users.
If you don't yet know whether you're a Z Shell user or a Bash user you can type echo $SHELL and look for the output of either: /bin/bash, or /bin/zsh. Next, we're going to edit the environment variables by typing either:
- vi ~/.zshenvor
- vi ~/.bashrc
We're going to add the Java home path to this file and set up the system path variable to allow our machine to find it. Using jdk1.8.0_291.jdk this will look something like this:
export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_291.jdk/Contents/Home
export PATH=%JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH
To exit vi, press escape then type wq (write and save), and then press enter.
Now if you open the terminal again and type Java -version it should show your version of Java recently installed.
Now that we know how to set up and configure Java manually, it's worth pointing out that there are some automated tools to help you set up and configure multiple versions of Java on your machine. These include:
Both are excellent tools that can save you a lot of time in the future after learning everything you need to know about how Java is installed and run on your machine.
Setup the IDE and Use Java
The final step in setting up Java on Mac is to install a suitable IDE to write code on your machine. Most providers have gotten around to producing an ARM build of their software today and for the rare exceptions that haven't then the emulated x64 version on Mac works without issue pretty much universally.
Having the knowledge and experience of troubleshooting JDK issues and understanding how the language works under the surface are invaluable skills that every Java developer should have at their disposal. These are also the kind of skills likely to feature in our tips to being a better Java developer guide alongside the other key skills and experience you should bring to the table.
Testing and Deployment of Java Code for Mac
One of the biggest impacts switching to aarch64 can have on developers is in integration testing and deployment. It can be a challenge to find Docker images with arm64 support, for example. In many cases, developers have to rely on emulating the environment to satisfy tests with results that are far less reliable than native support.
Teams will often have to build and share their docker images amongst themselves to support developers with aarm64 architecture. Within teams, these are the kinds of issues that rely on good communication, thorough documentation, and a productive working environment to maximize a group's potential. Our guide to working with remote Java developers has tips and solutions to help you make the most of your remote teams and create long-lasting processes.
Testing Issues with Java on Mac
Switching to an alternate architecture often means teams are required to overwrite Docker's default images with arm64 compatible alternatives. another way to circumvent these issues is to use cloud-based containers to run full suites of integration tests and cut down or temporarily disable the number of tests done locally.
These issues, however, are only temporary impacts of a new technology. We can expect more and more arm64 compatible images to be available soon as more versions of the M-series become available to consumers. Already, the challenges associated with testing and running Java code on mac are less significant than this time last year.
Emerging patterns in Java development are one of the best reasons to keep on top of the latest trends in hiring and managing Java developers in your teams.
Java Development for Mac M1
Resolving the initial issues of introducing Java to the latest Mac device is a significant technical hurdle to overcome. It's an issue that takes some time, patience, and perseverance — particularly when colleagues can be up and running in a flash. Yet, this is a technical hurdle that is getting less significant every day.
More and more software providers are now providing arm64 solutions and releasing software updates to work with Apple's latest flagship devices. In the next year or two, we can confidently predict that working with Java on Mac won't be any more complex or challenging than any other devices, and so guides like this won't even exist.
On the other side of the technical trade-off, the performance characteristics of modern architecture are already proving to be a worthwhile investment for developers. Using the latest architecture Java is capable of building and running faster on M-series chips that an equivalent x64 Mac machine. The step-change enabled by building while using Java development for Mac today is one that's only going to get bigger over time.
