When and Why run alternatives --install java jar javac javaws on installing jdk in linux

Question

To install java in linux (I used CentOS, RHEL is same too), I used this command

rpm -Uvh /path/to/binary/jdk-7u55-linux-x64.rpm

and verified java

Answer 1

Maybe, just the guide is outdated.

After you install the rpm, you can check:

alternatives --display java

to see if you can see the new version is controlled by alternative, if not you need to "--install" them; otherwise, I think you can just skip "--install" part.