Oracle's newly released Java 7 runtime is relatively painless to install and uninstall.

Oracle is now giving Mac users the ability to get Java updates at the same time as they are available for Windows and Linux with the release of the Java SE 7 Update 4.

Java used to be deeply embedded in OS X, but in recent versions of the OS it's an optional install. Here is how to check to see if it is installed, and how to disable or remove it.

You can check which Java version is on your Mac to see if you have the most up-to-date Java running, or you can check on the Java website.