Dale & Karen Nicholson wrote:
>
> I want to instal Redhat linux to run in dual boot mode with win95 and
> need the capacity to use the JDK with both.
>
> I am a developer in a HP-UX and SCO unix environment at work using
> mostly unibasic, C, & two proprietary EIS languages (very little linux,
> only EIS' modified version for Digitized voice) but have been developing
> applets and some simple java programs at home for my own personal
> development and web design. I want the power of UNIX at home but am
> afraid of switching without getting some more detailed knowledge first.
> Unfortunately I have no experience in compiling and configuring an OS so
> I thought I'd try one of the more popular binaries available.
>
> Any help would be very much appreciated, either with a better flavor of
> linux to use or with how to port the JDK to linux.
I use RedHat 5.0 with Steve Byrne's jdk 1.1.5 port. I haven't upgraded
to 1.1.6 yet; I've been too busy writing code and keeping up with other
stuff. I regularly use my linux box, Solaris, and WinNT. The Linux
platform has become my primary development environment. I am not an
experienced Unix sysadmin, but I've managed to stumble around and get RH
working just fine, without an inordinate amount of effort. I find it
much more transparent than NT; when things go wrong, it's a lot easier
to figure out why, and to fix it. On the other hand, linux is a LOT more
stable than NT, particularly for a developer.
I've tried a number of IDE packages for java on linux, and I've settled
on the JDE package for emacs. I'm using RMI and Object Design's PSE Pro
extensively, and I find I need the power of gnu make to construct my
system; the basic jdk tools just don't cut it, nor do any of the tools
built into the big expensive IDE's. I don't do too much GUI work, but
when I do there are several tools that are pretty good for that. Often I
end up using JBuilder on the NT box to whip up a front end, then turn
around to the linux box and polish it up and add the RMI stuff and the
real logic. Linux runs Samba out-of-the-box, so it's a file and print
server for the NT box. You can either just use the same directories on
both sides, or you can use cvs on the linux side to manage your code. By
the way, linux can also be set up as a masquerading firewall, so both
linux and NT can see out through the same ppp link when I'm dialed in.
Good luck.
John Collins
