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Re: [RFC] Would there be a need for a java-wrappers package?
On Sun, 22 Feb 2004, Nicholas Wourms wrote:
> pechtcha wrote:
>
> > Hi, all,
> >
> > I would like to hear opinions on how useful a java-wrappers package would
> > be. The package will contain a few shell scripts that allow users to
> > invoke the regular Java SDK tools (java, javac, javadoc) from Cygwin,
> > making them look like their Unix counterparts (i.e., POSIX filenames).
> > The scripts would be updated versions of those posted in
> > <http://cygwin.com/ml/cygwin/2003-01/msg00174.html>.
> >
> > There are a few reasons why I have misgivings about this. First off, some
> > tools (notably Ant and Tomcat) recognize Cygwin and do something specific
> > to Cygwin anyway, which will probably (most likely) get screwed up if the
> > java they find looks like a Unix version (this did happen to me with Ant
> > and Cygwin-native jikes). Secondly, the tools will certainly not be
> > foolproof (although I'll try my best to make them as robust and autonomous
> > as possible). Thirdly, java versioning may become a problem.
>
> You also might considier the problem which might arise if someone
> decided to package Kaffe.
Yes, but there's been talk about getting a Cygwin-native JVM for a while,
with no apparent results. :-)
> Perhaps it is time to investigate that system that Debian uses for
> managing packages with conflicting names. I think it is called
> update-alternatives or something like that...
We already have some packages with name conflicts (pdksh vs. astksh,
possibly some others I can't recall at the moment), so I think one more
won't make that much of a difference. Any solution that will apply to one
will apply to all such packages, and thus is orthogonal to the issue.
> Anyhow, the scripts are still a nice idea :-). You might want to speak
> with Randall Schultz, he also has some really nice scripts I've been
> using for a year or two.
>
> Cheers,
> Nicholas
Thanks for the suggestion, Nicholas. I believe we've discussed these
scripts with Randall back when I first posted them, but I do hope he
offers his input again when I ITP them here. I'd also like your input
then, if only to say how they differ from Randall's scripts.
FWIW, since these scripts are going to be Cygwin-specific, perhaps CGF
might even consider hosting a CVS repository for them on cygwin-apps, so
that others can send in patches against the development version...
Igor
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