Re: java

[Derrik Pates <dpates@dsdk12.net>]

Greg Hamilton wrote:
> IBM distribute a free-as-in-beer binary only Java package which includes 
> the SDK and JVM. I believe it has passed the Sun compliance tests. I 
> don't have a download address handy but you should be able to find by 
> searching their website. The packages are labeled p-series (PPC) and 
> i-series (Intel). I use it on a G3 iBook running Debian.

Actually, iSeries and pSeries are both POWER-based systems - pSeries is 
what's been known previously as RS6000; iSeries is what's previously 
been known as AS400 (where you can run partitioned virtual machines on 
top of a hypervisor). Neither are x86 based - xSeries is IBM's family of 
Intel-based server systems.

> Unfortunately there's no browser plugin and I recall there's an 
> environment variable which must be set to specify the target processor 
> if you're not using a G4 or the runtime will fail trying to execute 
> illegal instructions.

I ran into that on my Pismo (not a G4, mind you) with an earlier 
version, but to my knowledge IBM fixed that issue. I've run jBuilder on 
top of it (with a couple class packs stolen from a Sun 1.4.2 JDK for 
x86), and it works as fine as Java software ever does.

--
Derrik Pates
dpates@dsdk12.net