Can SonarLint be run on JDK 5,6, or 7?

Question

I am trying to install SonarLint for Eclipse Ganymede (3.4.2) - and our project is very old, so we're using JDK 1.5 here. So is it possible to run SonarLint for JDK 5?

Answer 1

First of all, JDK 5 is so old, I can't really be certain of anything...

But here are some key factors that are important to understand:

• Java code is analyzed by the Java analyzer (known today as "SonarJava"). SonarLint is a plugin in Eclipse (and other IDEs) that executes the SonarJava, and uses the results from it to annotate the code you are editing.

• The JDK version that the SonarJava itself requires to run, is not the same thing as the JDK version of the source code it is able to analyze (= the subject of the analysis). For example, SonarJava may not run at all on JDK 7, but able to analyze code that is written in JDK 6.

• If you use SonarLint in standalone mode, it uses its embedded version of the SonarJava, you cannot use another version. If you use SonarLint in connected mode, it uses SonarJava installed in the SonarQube to which you are connected. Here you have some freedom of choice in the version of the SonarJava, but not unlimited, because SonarLint may not be compatible with all versions of SonarJava, for example recent versions require a certain minimum version.

As per the product news, the current version of SonarLint requires Java 8 and more recent Eclipse than Juno. But you may be able to find an older version of SonarLint that can run in an older Eclipse, and support a version of SonarJava that is able to run on your JDK, and analyze code written for your target JDK version.

Based on the above points, you can dig into the older releases of SonarLint and find something suitable. These links should be useful in your search:

• Product news of SonarLint for Eclipse. These also include links to the detailed release notes, which usually contain information about the version of embedded SonarJava
• Releases of SonarLint for Eclipse
• Homepage of SonarJava