From owner-freebsd-java Thu Apr 20 21:17: 1 2000 Delivered-To: freebsd-java@freebsd.org Received: from ares.trc.adelaide.edu.au (ares.trc.adelaide.edu.au [129.127.246.5]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0A48837B888 for ; Thu, 20 Apr 2000 21:16:54 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from glewis@ares.trc.adelaide.edu.au) Received: (from glewis@localhost) by ares.trc.adelaide.edu.au (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA37572; Fri, 21 Apr 2000 13:46:44 +0930 (CST) (envelope-from glewis) From: Greg Lewis Message-Id: <200004210416.NAA37572@ares.trc.adelaide.edu.au> Subject: Re: JDK1.2.2 In-Reply-To: <20000420225653.65449.qmail@hotmail.com> from John Daniels at "Apr 20, 2000 06:56:53 pm" To: John Daniels Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 13:46:44 +0930 (CST) Cc: freebsd-java@freebsd.org X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4ME+ PL70 (25)] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-freebsd-java@FreeBSD.ORG Precedence: bulk X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Hi John, > I have a project that I would like to use Java for. I would like to use the > latest version: 1.2.2, but I am a bit reluctant to use software that is > termed "Pre-Alpha." Can anyone comment on the stability of the pre-alpha > jdk, especially since the blackdown port is available as a reference (or > bootstrap) - is FreeBSD's "pre-alpha" as stable as Blackdown's current > version? I don't know that the current port has undergone enough stress testing to have a proper indication of its stability. For that reason alone I'd have to guess the current Blackdown version is more stable. > I am running FreeBSD 4.0-RELEASE. Mr. Koster's web pages state that the > pre-alpha is does not build cleanly on 4.0 systems. Is this still the case? The current patchset will build cleanly, however its missing a critical piece of functionality for 4.0 and 5.0. Expect this functionality to be present in the next patchset though (thanks Steve!) which will almost certainly be termed "alpha". > What advantages/disadvantages are there to using a native Java over the > blackdown Java running under Linux emulation? Most of the Java ports > require JDK1.1.8, how difficult/possible is it to use those ports with 1) > "native" 1.2.2, 2) linux-based blackdown 1.2.2? To answer the first question: Advantage: Its much easier to do JNI with a native port. Disadvantage: The Blackdown port has been tested much more thoroughly and includes a JIT (you need to compile a 3rd party JIT with the current FreeBSD patches -- if you want one that is). In terms of your second question, it depends upon the ports in question. > Sun's Forte IDE is now available ("Free") under Sun's community license - > are there any plans to port this? Also, I understand that someone has IBM's > visualage for Java working under FreeBSD - could that be made into a port? Can't comment on these :). > There seem to be many difficulties working with Sun. Even the Blackdown > people have had difficulties (as described on their website). This may not > be nefarious - it may just be a matter of scarce resources. But it seems > that the more that we can show a need for Sun's attention, the better. As > such, is it possible to get support from Apple, since OSX users may benefit > from a Java port? Only Apple can answer this :). I don't know how beneficial the current port would be towards a port of their own. -- Greg Lewis glewis@trc.adelaide.edu.au Computing Officer +61 8 8303 5083 Teletraffic Research Centre To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-java" in the body of the message