java on linux

[Tom Guilderson]

Mike Bilow wrote:
> 
> Hmmm... so you work on the Island of Misfit Toys?
> 
> As a practical matter, you really need to have the latest stuff with Java.
> The changes are always major and you need to be on the cutting edge if you
> want to work with the new J2EE components.  If you are dealing with
> anything beyond basic Java, even common things such as JDBC or JNDI, then
> you really need to be on Java 1.2 and cannot really get by with 1.1.
> 
> This rules out all of the open source VMs, unfortunately.  We have been
> using the Sun JDK 1.2.2 on Linux, and it has worked.  This is with very
> heavy use of J2EE extensions such as JNDI and even EJB.  In turn, this
> forces the use of a fairly recent distribution of Linux, since you must be
> on glibc 2.1.  In our case, we are using Debian Potato, which is not quite
> released but is so far proving solid and reliable.
> 
> Debian also has a specific provision for mounting multiple concurrent
> JVMs, using the "java-virtual-machine-dummy" package.  This works by
> filtering all calls into "java" or "javac" through indirections in the
> /etc/alternatives table, which is a standard part of Debian for things
> other than Java also.
> 

soon to be the the home of Rocky and Bullwinkle

I am currently using IBM's JDK version 1.3 for Linuxm on RedHat 6.1 Once
I have become more proficient with Java I will begin evaluating other
JDK's.  I chose IBM because of the combination of its heavy involvemnet
with Java, and the support for Linux as a tier 1 target OS/platform.

Most of the feedback and small amount of research I have done is
indicating that the open source solutions are not there yet.  Hopefully
that will change.  I have heard good things about jikes, but it is no
good without a runtime environment.  

I think I will try Debian out since it sounds like it will be possible
to set up multiple java environements on the same system.  What is the
best place to get Debain, can I get a "packaged" distro for $30 bucks
like RedHat or Suse? I don't mind spending $30 to support a company
contributing to the open-source community.

Thanks to all for your input on this thread.

-- 
Tom Guilderson
Applied Technology Team
CVS Pharmacy
mailto:TWGuilderson at cvs.com
http://www.cvs.com/
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