sudo update-alternatives --config java

Configures the default for the program "java". That's the Java VM.

sudo update-alternatives --config javac

Configures the default Java compiler.

You can also see that, because the first command lists a lot of "JRE" (Java Runtime Environment) folders and the Program is just called "java".

If I check which version is being used by issuing the command java -version or javac -version, I can see, that each command changes the program being used.

However, using update-java-alternatives with a JDK Version changes both programs for me. Using the first commands, you can use a Java VM and Java Compiler from different JDKs.

update-java-alternatives requires presence of a file with extension .jinfo in directory /usr/lib/jvm. The openjdk package is shipped with a .jinfo file, the jdk of Oracle (formerly Sun) is not. As alternative, you configure alternatives without update-java-alternatives:

For example, to add java from jvm-directory /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-12.0.1 (default directory of Debian package of Oracle) with priority 2082, use the following command:

sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java /usr/lib/jvm/jdk-12.0.1/bin/java 2082

As for switching for different development environments:

Are you talking about starting the IDE itself with different Java versions or using different versions in the IDE for compilation and running your app?

• For 1.: You can specify which JVM to use in the eclipse.ini, as described here. I don't know how to do that for the Arduino IDE.

• For 2.: In Eclipse you can select the JRE/JDK to be used in Window -> Preferences -> Java -> Installed JREs. And under Java -> Compiler you could choose an older Java compliance if you wish.

EDIT: This DigitalOcean page also has a very nice explanation of everything related to Java on Ubuntu.

Assuming one has installed a JDK in /opt/java/jdk1.8.0_144 then:

1. Install the alternative for javac

   $ sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/javac javac /opt/java/jdk1.8.0_144/bin/javac 1
   

2. Check / update the alternatives config:

   $ sudo update-alternatives --config javac
   

If there is only a single alternative for javac you will get a message saying so, otherwise select the option for the new JDK.

To check everything is setup correctly then:

$ which javac
/usr/bin/javac

$ ls -l /usr/bin/javac
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 23 Sep  4 17:10 /usr/bin/javac -> /etc/alternatives/javac

$ ls -l /etc/alternatives/javac
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 32 Sep  4 17:10 /etc/alternatives/javac -> /opt/java/jdk1.8.0_144/bin/javac

And finally

$ javac -version
javac 1.8.0_144

Repeat for java, keytool, jar, etc as needed.

On Debian based distro you can use two command lines tools to manage java version:

1. update-alternatives

Here is my answer on U&L for the usage of update-alternatives.

2. update-java-alternatives

The galternatives is the graphical setup tool for the update-alternatives cli.