Two versions of java installed in two locations on my mac, which is right?

Question

I am having trouble with java install locations. I am using a mac running 10.9.2 and i have two versions of java installed jdk 1.7.0 & jdk 1.6.0 but both installs are in different locations.

jdk 1.6.0 is at: /System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines

where as

jdk 1.7.0 is at: /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines

Which one of these locations is the right location, or does it really not make a difference?

And will it matter if i manually move these into the same directory? I am noticing when i run

java -version in terminal i get the output:

java version "1.7.0_67"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_67-b01)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 24.65-b04, mixed mode) 

So would i be a big deal if i moved the java 1.6.0 install to the same directory as 1.7.0?

Answer 1

Both are in their correct places.

Version 1.6 is the version build by Apple when they still supported Java.

Version 1.7 is the version shipped by Oracle.

You'll find a number of apps that still require v1.6, like Crashplan, so I'd leave them both.

Here's another StackOverflow thread that deals with this topic, if you want more background.