WebSphere Portlet Factory 6.1.5 on 64-bit Ubuntu 9.10

I used 64-bit Eclipse 3.4.2 and 64-bit Java 6 from IBM on 64-bit Ubuntu 9.10.

It just works. I had the following changes in place:

• the general 64-bit Ubuntu 6.10 additions as outlined in the “Preparation” section
• the 64-bit Eclipse 3.4.2 fixes

before proceeding with the installation of WebSphere Portlet Factory (or WPF for short) 6.1.5.

I would note also the following.

In preparation:

• consult the Detailed system requirements – WebSphere Portlet Factory 6.1.5 page to ensure the system has:
  • a compatible Eclipse environment to install WPF into (for me, Eclipse 3.4.2 – the 64-bit Java EE version, which had the pre-required web stuff)
  • a compatible Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for the Eclipse environment (for me, I used IBM’s 64-bit Java 6 for Linux – alternative option for me was to use Mashup Center 2.0 ‘s 32-bit Java 6 in /opt/ibm/MashupCenter/2.0/AppServer/java which I found to work also)
  • optionally, a compatible application server to publish widgets to (for me, Mashup Center 2.0′s)
• understand that the installer does not present options to install an application server or an Eclipse environment – have to be installed separately
• understand that the application server doesn’t have to be installed before the WPF installation – can be done at a later time as the installer doesn’t touch or need it
• understand that the installation can be done without supervisor privileges (i.e., no sudo is needed) if this is the case with the existing Eclipse environment

During installation:

• when asked to set install folder for WebSphere Portlet Factory Designer 6.1.5, understand that the whole WFP stuff would be installed under a “Designer” directory under this folder – i.e., with the default /home/bjfletcher/IBM where bjfletcher was my system username, it would be /home/bjfletcher/IBM/Designer
• when asked to specify Eclipse location, understand that the installation simply places a link in the existing Eclipse (in Eclipse folder, it is links/com.bowstreet.designer.link) that references to the installed WPF stuff from above – ingenuity
• understand the “Bowstreet” reference is because WPF was initially developed by Bowstreet until it was acquired by IBM in December 2005
• understand that the installation process is very quick, it was about 10 seconds after prompts

WebSphere Portlet Factory 6.1.5 can then be accessed in the Eclipse environment through the “WebSphere Portlet Factory” perspective.

Ben

P.S. easiest way to try different JRE’s with Eclipse is to start Eclipse with the -vm argument pointing to the Java installation’s bin folder

64-bit Eclipse 3.4.2 on 64-bit Ubuntu 9.10 using 64-bit IBM Java 6

Eclipse on Java – the base for much of IBM’s software.

The 64-bit Eclipse 3.4.2 - why 3.4.2 and not 3.5? 3.4.2 was a pre-requirement for some software I intended to install, namely WebSphere Portlet Factory 6.1.5 – I used the Java EE version (as the EE stack is a typical pre-requirement for IBM software):

http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/release/ganymede/sr2

The 64-bit Java – a requirement for Eclipse – I used IBM’s Java 6 64-bit for Linux, obtained internally. If you’re not from IBM or a customer, you may find it from Oracle or elsewhere.

It worked – with two changes in additions to the changes outlined under “Preparation” here.

Chnage #1

Ubuntu 9.10′s embedded web browser was too new for the old 64-bit Eclipse 3.4.2, causing a startup bug to occur.  3.4.2 was however no longer in maintenance (3.4.2 was final) and hence the bug would never be fixed except in 3.5 and beyond. The solution I used was to add the following line to eclipse.ini file in the Eclipse folder:

-Dorg.eclipse.swt.browser.XULRunnerPath=/usr/lib/xulrunner

or else, when the Java is installed and the Eclipse is started, the workspace location specified, it may crash, with the log (from the workspace folder, .metadata/.log) containing:

java.lang.RuntimeException: Widget disposed too early!

and, later in the log:

org.eclipse.swt.SWTError: XPCOM error -2147467262

32-bit Eclipse 3.4.2 and 64-bit Eclipse 3.5 didn’t have this problem on 64-bit Ubuntu 9.10 using 64-bit IBM Java 6, they just worked without any change.

Change #2

Ubuntu 9.10′s graphical framework for Gnome was also too new for the old Eclipse 3.4.2 causing a bug with user interface issues – clicking on a perspective or going through a dialog can appear stalled.  The solution I used was to start Eclipse with the following set:

GDK_NATIVE_WINDOWS=1

(i.e., run in terminal: GDK_NATIVE_WINDOWS=1 ./eclipse – wrap applications in scripts, or set it in $HOME/.bashrc – understand that .bashrc works only for applications launched from the terminal, and that setting it in $HOME/.profile or $HOME/.gnomerc will crash X server.)

My observation using Eclipse-based applications was that they were also more responsive with the change.

At time of writing, Eclipse 3.5.2′s plan is to have this problem fixed (subscribe to the bug if you like) meaning this solution should not be needed for Eclipse 3.5.2 and beyond.

Ben