I added the following to my .bash_profile:JAVA_HOME=$JAVA_HOME:/usr/java/jdk1.7.0export JAVA_HOMEHowever, when I echo $JAVA_HOME it outputs an empty string. Why weren't my changes to .bash_profile reflected in the shell?
Variable assignment in .bash_profile has no effect
bash;environment variables;profile
You should add this to your .bashrc file, if you want it set for every interactive shell. 