A little computer help re: Java Runtime Environment

Factual Questions
1

I want to use Open Office Base to create a small database application for myself at home. This is a standalone program, it does not run in a browser. It requires Java Runtime Environment to function. I am on Windows 8.1.

So I downloaded Java, and tried to set it up so that it would be open when I started Base. But this doesn’t seem to be working, because I still get the Java error message when I try to do something in Base. Java help notes all seem to be about running things under browsers, and I don’t seem to be able to figure this out for myself.

Anyone here have knowledge or experience with this?

2

Check if you have a mismatch between 32 bit and 64 bit versions. You can run both 32 bit or both 64bit. You can’t mix and match.

3

Sorry, but this isn’t correct - see this Oracle documentation. It’s possible and often necessary to have both the 32-bit JRE and 64-bit JRE installed at the same time, on a 64-bit OS. It’s up to the application to choose which JRE it invokes and if an app invokes the 32-bit JRE as a plug-in won’t be able to use the 64-bit JRE.

OpenOffice needs the 32-bit JRE so make sure you have that installed. Also, OpenOffice hasn’t been actively maintained for a while. LibreOffice is its more actively maintained successor.

4

I’ll take a look at LIbreOffice. Thanks.

5

LibreOffice is just a fork of OpenOffice, and I don’t think it will help with your JRE issue per se. Just download both JRE versions (Windows Offline and Windows Offline 64-bit) from here and install both of them:

https://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

Also, have you considered using something like Airtable instead? https://airtable.com/ Might be easier, prettier, and faster than setting up something from scratch in Base, especially if you can start from one of their existing templates.

6

Try opening a command window (Start - Run - cmd.exe) and enter the command “java -version”. Does it come back with any version info? If you get an “unknown command” message, your system doesn’t know where your Java installation is, and you may need to add your Java folder to your PATH statement.

7

Note also that OpenOffice has been dead for 8 years.

8

I don’t know the nature of the error you’re getting, but is it possible that you need to set up the path so that Open Office knows where to find the Java files?

9

If you are running in a windows environment, I would recommend using MS SQL, there is more documentation/examples available and for most applications there is a free version: “express”, that will cover most needs. It is also very well supported and I cannot imagine you running into dependency problems.