MacOS – Step to step guide how to use 32bit version of Java in Eclipse

32-biteclipsejavamacos

I have a Java project in Eclipse that requires Java 7 running in 32 bit mode. I tried to force running in 32 bit mode by adding the flag -d32 to the VM arguments.

However, I then get the following message:

Error: This Java instance does not support a 32-bit JVM.
Please install the desired version.

I tried the same with Java 6, and there the flag works. So I supposed that I don't have a 32 bit version of Java installed. I checked all installed versions of java with /usr/libexec/java_home -V and get the following list:

1.7.0_75, x86_64:   "Java SE 7" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_75.jdk/Contents/Home
1.7.0_67, x86_64:   "Java SE 7" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_67.jdk/Contents/Home
1.6.0_65-b14-466.1, x86_64: "Java SE 6" /System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home
1.6.0_65-b14-466.1, i386:   "Java SE 6" /System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home

I then run the same command with the -d32 flag to check for 32 bit VMs and get the following list:

1.6.0_65-b14-466.1, i386:   "Java SE 6" /System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home

So it really seems that there is no Java 7 with is compatible to run in 32bit mode available on my system. I checked the Internet, but couldn't find a way how to install 32 bit Java on a Mac. It always is assumed that the -d32 switch is working. My Mac is running Yosemite (10.10.2).

So what am I doing wrong? Is there a step for step tutorial that I can follow to run my application in Eclipse in 32bit mode with Java 7.

Best Answer

There is no Oracle 32 bit Java 7 for OS X. The possible OSs are listed here and OS X just has the one entry

Mac OS X x64 185.86 MB jdk-7u75-macosx-x64.dmg

As Yosemite is a 64 bit OS what exactly needs to be 32 bit?