Installing Java on TB Systems

We need to keep Java installed for the BioCoRE team and for the web. This is not, however, a simple process, especially when we try to encap it. This is what I had to do the last time I installed a new version of Java.

Required Packages

  • j2sdk - the developer's kit. Includes the runtime environment (j2re). The basic setup, needed to do anything with Java.
    • Note that there are 64-bit libraries for Solaris that have to be installed as well (both have to be downloaded).
  • java3d - what it sounds like, it lets us use OpenGL APIs in Java. Necessary for JMV, for starters. Needs to install with j2sdk, which is annoying.
  • javaws - Java Web Start. Used for BioCoRE.

j2sdk

This can be fairly easily downloaded; they're self-extracting binaries. The basic install into encap is fairly easy:

cd /usr/local/encap; mkdir j2sdk-1.4.1_01; cd j2sdk-1.4.1_01 sudo chown tskirvin . sh ~/src/j2sdk-1_4_1_01-solaris-sparc.sh mv j2sdk*/* j2sdk/.syst* .; rm -rf j2sdk* (cd jre; gtar -cf - .) | gtar -xkf - rm -rf jre

For Solaris, there's an additional step: install the 64-bit libraries too:

sh ~/src/j2sdk-1_4_1_01-solaris-sparcv9.sh (cd j2sdk*; gtar -cf - .) | gtar -xf - rm -rf j2sdk*

java3d

The Solaris version can be downloaded from sun.com, the Linux version from blackdown.org.

cd /usr/local/encap/j2sdk-1.4.1_01 sh ~/src/java3d-1_3-solaris-sparc-sdk.bin (cd jre; gtar -cf - .) | gtar -xkf -; rm -rf jre

Encap files into step

Finally, make an encapinfo file (copy one of the old ones) and run:

sudo epkg j2sdk

javaws

This can be installed in a separate encap directory.

Linux instructions:

cd /tmp; unzip /usr/local/encap/j2sdk-1.4.1_01/javaws*zip vi install.sh # comment out updateMailcap, updateMimeTypes, createDTActions sh install.sh # look for Java in /usr/local sudo mkdir /usr/local/encap/javaws-1.2 sudo mv javaws /usr/local/encap/javaws-1.2 epkg javaws

Other Stuff

You have to make sure the web browsers handle it properly. Currently, it should work under Phoenix, Netscape, and Mozilla for both Linux and Solaris. This is somewhat tricky, but I think that the encaps I've got set up (phoenix_plugins and the mozilla build) point at fairly generic locations that should just work... When in doubt, go check the old plugins directories and see how they're laid out.

References

j2sdk

java3d

Test Pages