Re: [gentoo-user] java java everywhere

[Alan McKinnon <alan.mckinnon@gmail.com>]

On Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:02:35 -0500
Willie Wong <wwong@math.princeton.edu> wrote:

> Hi list, 
> 
> I've not been keeping up with the developments in the Java world, and
> now am getting a bit confused. 
> 
> Currently my computer is using the icedtea jdk, in fact, I am running
> icedtea-bin-1.10.4. Today, portage wants to 
> 
> [ebuild     U  ] dev-java/icedtea-bin-6.1.10.4 [1.10.4]
> [ebuild  N     ] sys-apps/attr-2.4.46-r1  USE="nls -static-libs"
> [ebuild  NS    ] virtual/jre-1.7.0 [1.6.0]
> [ebuild  N     ] dev-java/icedtea-7.2.0-r1  USE="nsplugin -debug -doc
> -examples -jamvm -javascript -pulseaudio -systemtap -webstart
> -zero" [ebuild  NS    ] virtual/jdk-1.7.0 [1.6.0] [ebuild  N     ]
> dev-java/icedtea-web-1.1.3-r7  USE="nsplugin -build -doc"
> 
> 
> And apparently I have many different choices of icedtea:
> 
> *  dev-java/icedtea
>       Latest version available: 7.2.0-r1
>       Latest version installed: [ Not Installed ]
>       Size of files: 65,904 kB
>       Homepage:      http://icedtea.classpath.org
>       Description:   A harness to build OpenJDK using Free Software
> build tools and dependencies License:       Apache-1.1 Apache-2.0
> GPL-1 GPL-2 GPL-2-with-linking-exception LGPL-2 MPL-1.0 MPL-1.1
> public-domain W3C
> 
> *  dev-java/icedtea-bin
>       Latest version available: 6.1.10.4
>       Latest version installed: 1.10.4
>       Size of files: 36,173 kB
>       Homepage:      http://icedtea.classpath.org
>       Description:   A Gentoo-made binary build of the Icedtea6 JDK
>       License:       GPL-2-with-linking-exception
> 
> *  dev-java/icedtea-web
>       Latest version available: 1.1.3-r7
>       Latest version installed: [ Not Installed ]
>       Size of files: 791 kB
>       Homepage:      http://icedtea.classpath.org
>       Description:   FOSS Java browser plugin and Web Start
> implementation License:       GPL-2 GPL-2-with-linking-exception
> LGPL-2
> 
> I figure that icedtea-bin is the binary version of icedtea, but 
> 
>  (i) What is icedtea-web?

If you had actually clicked on the homepage link in the emerge -s
output you posted, you would have seen in the very first bullet point
right at the start of the page that icedtea-web is mostly Java Web Start

>  (ii) Why the version jump from 1.10.4 to 6.1.10.4?

Look carefully. It's not a version jump, just the addition of a 6.
prefix. It's to bring the -bin package version into line with the
source code version

>  (iii) Why is the -bin one major version behind icedtee?

No idea. You should ask the builder of the bin packages. The likely
reason is that he hasn't gotten around to building it yet
 
>  (iv) Do I really need to have so many different java things on my
> computer?

Do you need to have so many different browsers on your computer?
How about editors? Or for that matter why do you have so many coding
languages available? How about openoffice?

It's not "so many", that's a ridiculous assertion. First you have
a choice between iced-tea built from source or a bin package. Firefox
and OOo do the same. Then there's icedtea-web which is a whole
different package altogether, implementing Java Web Start (which is not
the java language, the sdk or a jvm).

So, if you want Java as implemented by iced-tea, pick between source
and -bin. If you want JWS, then emerge that too.

Did you even attempt to google this and find answers yourself?



-- 
Alan McKinnnon
alan.mckinnon@gmail.com