Interfacing C with Java on Linux

Question

For a project I need to be able to use some C programs through Java. Our teachers have told us we can use minGW but that only seems to work on Windows, and my machine is running Linux (Mint 18). I saw posts about using javah, but when I attempt to use it, I get the following message

> javah HelloJNI The program 'javah' can be found in the following
> packages:  * gcj-4.8-jdk  * openjdk-7-jdk  * gcj-4.6-jdk  *
> openjdk-6-jdk Try: sudo apt-get install <selected package>

So I try sudo apt-get install javah and I get

> sudo apt-get install javah [sudo] password for jess:  Reading package
> lists... Done Building dependency tree        Reading state
> information... Done E: Unable to locate package javah

What am I doing wrong? can someone give me some pointers on how to do this? Thanks x

Answer 1

javah is a part of JDK (Java Development Kit).

You can get it here:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jdk8-downloads-2133151.html

After installing JDK, you will be able to use javac, javah, and lots more software related to Java development.

If you want to start with sample code, I suggest to go here:

http://jnicookbook.owsiak.org/recipe-No-001/

There, you can find step by step instruction on how to write, compile and run JNI based code. Have fun!