Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

All programs in the Bioinformatics Toolkit are written in Java 1.4. In order to run any of the programs you will therefore need to have installed on your computer the Java Runtime Environment, version 1.4 or later.

Not sure whether you have Java installed?

Apple Mac OS X users

No action is necessary as Java 1.4 (or later) comes as standard with OS X.

Microsoft Windows and Linux users

Type java -version, then return, from the command line. If Java is installed you should get a message similar to this:

Screenshot of command prompt window on MS Windows.

If you don't get this message, or the version of Java is less than 1.4, you will need to install the latest version of Java.

Microsoft Windows users

The command line can be accessed by running the Command Prompt from your Start Menu as follows:

Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

The simplest way of getting the Java Runtime Environment is to visit www.java.com and follow the instructions presented there. Essentially this site checks whether you have the latest version of Java, and if not provides a simple installation procedure.

Alternatively, Java can be obtained from Sun's Java developer site by visting java.sun.com and downloading the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) by following the download links marked J2SE (1.4 or later; at time of writing current version is 6).