Native Java JDK 1.3.1 Support For FreeBSD

ap writes "Justin T. Gibbs, of the FreeBSD Foundation, announced today the availability of a native binary release of the Java JDK 1.3.1 for FreeBSD. He also mentioned that more attention will now be focused on providing a release of the 1.4.x JDK. Such developments should allow for FreeBSD to be better suited for enterprise uses."

Comments

Somewhere, in a noisy hospital room

[Lane.exe]

[a man in a white coat stands over the BSD devil, holding defibrillators]

"CLEAR!"

[loud zapping noise]

"Ladies and gentlenerds... BSD is no longer dying."

Someone had to say it

Re:Somewhere, in a noisy hospital room

[Anonymous Coward]

This attempt at humor has been posted to
the net using how many bsd tcp stacks?
Travelling through how many bsd firewalls?

Make jokes, linux boy. We're too busy coding
the next generation of free tools that leenux
will once agains "SCO" over to the kernel tree.

PS. -- To Moderators calling this a flame:
WTF was the original post? Not a flame?
Show some common sense.

bout damn time

[SHEENmaster]

but "binary only" probably means "x86-32 binary based upon libs from FreeBSD 3.1"

I'm still waiting for a PowerPC(G3/750cx) build of J2DK 1.4.1. Sun won't offer it, blackdown won't offer it, and IBM's build just promptly segaults when run.

Re:bout damn time

[KrispyKringle]

Apparently the whole point is merely that Sun is now offering a license for the FreeBSD binary, which allows the FreeBSD team to distribute a binary pkg. There are a number of jdks available in the ports collection for you to build yourself; I have no intention of changing the setup on my FreeBSD machine, since the sdk I compiled myself works fine.

Here's that BSD babe post

[rgm3]

For those of you wondering wtf he's talking about, a cute chick in red plastic dressed as the BSD devil got lauded at some convention somewhere.

Here's the link to the post, lots of pictures.

Stupid Question

[boris_the_hacker]

Ok, this is probably a stupid question that could probably be solved by a little googling, but I shall ask anyway, does this mean that Java can finally be run on FreeBSD or is this just a native port of a JVM (where previous JVM's have been running in some form of emulation) ?

Is it only now that FreeBSD people can run Java code ?

Sorry if this is stupid but I have never played with FreeBSD.

Re:Stupid Question

[moderators_are_w*nke]

FreeBSD (actually, AFAIK, all the BSDs) have had native Java for ages as part of the ports system, but because of Sun's licencing, you had to compile it yourself, which can take some time. A binary release just makes it easier for some users to run native Java.

FreeBSD (and probable other BSDs) can also run an emulated Linux Java virtual machine.

Mark

Re:Stupid Question

[markv242]

Actually, even the compiled-with-patches version of the 1.3 JDK was listed as not being production ready. Therefore, probably not safe to use for your applications.

If this is truly production ready 1.3 JDK (1.3, guys? Surely you could have gotten 1.4 done in the same time) then FreeBSD is once again a serious Java hosting environment.

Re:Stupid Question

[JDizzy]

I think you are all wrong.
Reminds me of the town fool. Everyone knows your a fool, but when you open your mouth you simultaniously remove any doubt.

BSD* has no java port.
Yes it does.

BSD* does no run an emulated Linux Java virtual machine. Instead it run it as a normal process
and maps Linux calls to simular BSD calls.
FreeBSD has a linux emulation layer, for running linux applications, and so the linux apps think they are talking to a linux kernel and userland. FreeBSD can, and many people do, run the linux JDK under emulation. In fact, to compile the native version of JDK on FreeBSD you have to boot-strap it with the linux version (java requires java to install). Afterwards folks can use the native version to build the native BSD version again. BTW - the process of mapping linux syscalls to their BSD counter part is called emulation.

Just to be clear

[Moridineas]

This doesn't mean that you previously couldn't run Java on FreeBSD. You could previously built a native java binary (though you needed to install the Linux JDK first) or you could run the Linux JDK directly.

Now the FreeBSD binaries are certified by Sun (which apparently is hard as anything to get done) and they can be distributed directly as a binary.

Sorry for my butchering

[Exiler]

Kernel collector: Bring out your dead!

Troll: Here's one.

Kernel collector: Ninepence.

BSD:I'm not dead!

Kernel collector: What?

Troll: Nothing. Here's your ninepence.

BSD: I'm not dead!

Kernel collector:'Ere. He says he's not dead!

Troll:Yes, he is.

BSD:I'm not!

Kernel collector:He isn't?

Troll:Well, he will be soon. He's very outdated.

BSD:I'm getting updates!

Troll: No, you're not. You'll be stone dead in a moment.

Kernel collector: Oh, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations.

BSD: I don't want to go off the net!

Troll: Oh, don't be such a microkernel.

Kernel collector: I can't take him.

BSD: I feel stable!

Troll:Well, do us a favour.

Kernel collector: I can't.

Troll: Well, can you hang around a couple of processes? He won't be long.

Kernel collector:No, I've got to go to Microsofts. They've lost 4 today.

Troll:Well, when's your next round?

Kernel collector:Thursday.

BSD:I think I'll go for a compile.

Troll:You're not fooling anyone, you know. Look. Isn't there something you can do?

BSD: [singing]
I have Java! I have Java!

*Twack*
Troll: Ah, thanks very much.

Kernel collector: Not at all. See you on Thursday.

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Re:who cares

[worm eater]

Does anyone run this OS?

Yes. Yahoo! uses FreeBSD for all of its shared hosting. Other hosting businesses such as Verio, Infospace and Datasync also have very large deployments of FreeBSD (each of the hosts I named have over 100,000 active sites running on FreeBSD).

The information in this post came from here.

Native Java! Now FreeBSDers ...

[Chromodromic]

... can process Java code that's not a bit slower than native Java on Windows.

Orrr ... They can just stick with mod_perl or WebWare for Python or PHP or some other truly open source technology that isn't controlled by forty-thousand corporations all with an invested business interest in competing with Microsoft.

I swear to God, every time I hear a phrase like "suited to the Enterprise" it's accompanied by a Java, Microsoft, or IBM article, all of which have a huge interest in convincing you that in order to sell a widget on the Internet you've absolutely, no-question, gotta have nineteen layers of logical infrastructure completely independent of each other otherwise your site's gonna go down and boy are you going to pay. In the meantime, sites like Yahoo run their e-commerce off of Lisp, PHP is their standardizing implementation language, Amazon is hiring Perl programmers, and Slashdot, a site which regularly DOSes other sites by virtue of it's power to link, runs on Perl.

But if you really want to be successful YOU NEED JAVA FOR THE "ENTERPRISE". Only with Java can you take half the time to express what takes twice as much typing to code. Or maybe by "Enterprise" what everyone really means is the USS Enterprise? Maybe that's why it could max out to warp 7.

Re:Native Java! Now FreeBSDers ...

[butane_bob2003]

Um, those layers of logical infrastructure and indirection are called interfaces and they are there to provide abstractions and encapsulation. Which can be very nice in large systems. I started with bash, perl, c, and PHP, but for rapid development of enterprise apps, Java won out. The only thing _close to J2EE is .NET, which is a complete rip off of J2EE (and a complete mess in places). I've worked on web systems hacked together in Perl using a bunch of CPAN modules, none of it comes close to a real development framework. Not to bash perl or anything, but just because you can do something cool using two non-descriptive characters does not mean you should. I dont get paid for using less keystrokes.

Re:Native Java! Now FreeBSDers ...

[Pieroxy]

At the contrary, it is a perfect opportunity.

They're just granting the license for FreeBSD, nothing else. Now the other JDKs will come in very quickly and in no time, FreeBSD will be an "official" Java platform.

It doesn't mean anything technically, since all JDKs are supported natively for a long time, btu in terms of marketting, it is a major step.

1.3.1??

[John Seminal]

That is an older version of the JVM which will be missing some classes that are being used by Java programmers. So much for being up to date.

BTW, why are they only now getting around to offering the Java SDK on BSD? Is there something more difficult about running Java on BSD than on another OS like linux?

Re:1.3.1??

[__past__]

Is there something more difficult about running Java on BSD than on another OS like Linux?

Yes, there is. BSD isn't hyped, and Sun doesn't sell computers with BSD preinstalled. That means that it isn't part of their definition of "everywhere" (as in "write once, run everywhere"), and they won't do more than they absolutely have to to support it.

Oh, you meant technical reasons? Java works fine on BSD, and has for a long time. We are talking about licensing issues here.

Re:1.3.1??

[MobyTurbo]

That is an older version of the JVM which will be missing some classes that are being used by Java programmers. So much for being up to date.

A native 1.4 sun jdk is in ports, I haven't tested it yet though. I assume that 1.4 in binary form will be forthcoming.

BTW, why are they only now getting around to offering the Java SDK on BSD?

FreeBSD has had a native Java 2 SDK for years, but they needed a Sun license in order to distribute binaries. Before you had to compile it in ports, which due to all of the point and click licenses Sun required you couldn't do in an automated fashion.

Re:who cares

[Call Me Black Cloud]

And one step below the 100k threshold lies my favorite host of choice, Pair Networks. And take a look at what the longest running sites are using.

Nvidia lists FreeBSD support

[Gherald]

Somewhat OT, but it really impressed me today when I went to the Nvidia site and clicked "Download Drivers" --> "Graphics Driver" --> "Geforce and TNT"

And saw listed for choices:

Windows XP / 2000
Windows NT4
Windows 95 / 98 / ME
Linux IA32
Linux AMD64
Linux IA64
FreeBSD

I don't know whether Nvidia's support is new (it probably isn't) but this is the first time I noticed it listed.

I was like: "Wow, people actually use this OS enough that a major graphics company provides drivers on their main download page."

Sorry if this isn't news, I just thought it was cool.

Re:Nvidia lists FreeBSD support

[Arandir]

FreeBSD support has been around about six months or so. I built a new system a couple of weeks ago, and chose a Nvidia card precisely because they supported FreeBSD. I've got a GeForce FX 5200 and there are no problems.

I used to bash Nvidia all day long for keeping their drivers closed, but it seems like ATI has been asleep at the wheel for a couple of years now with regards to specs, so what you gonna do? It's not like there are any other consumer grade video card manfuacturers anymore. Matrox still seems to be in business, but just try finding one of their cards.

Bad examples.

[markv242]

(Every time I post this sort of message, I get +5. I hate karma whoring like this, but once again it's time for some education.) "Amazon is hiring Perl programmers" leads the reader to believe that Amazon is running Perl in some major shape or form. They aren't. They are running Java servlets under... Weblogic, I believe. "Slashdot...runs on Perl." leads the reader to believe that Slashdot is a complicated website. It isn't. Incidentally, have you clicked on the "Friends" tab on your user page lately? What an incredibly slow response (and that isn't a bandwidth issue). None of the technologies you listed (mod_perl, Python, PHP, etc) handle any type of failure well at all. Show me a PHP-based site, hosted on multiple machines, that provides load-balanced and automatic failover of in-memory session data. I'll give you a clue: you won't find one, because it is impossible to do shared memory over a cluster of machines in PHP, mod_perl, Python, etc etc. On the other hand, I can list off a whole slew of Java app servers that can do clustered, load-balanced, full-failover shared memory without even blinking. Resin is an awesome example of an extremely inexpensive application server that currently does nearly everything you need an app server to do. Want to know a little secret? The PHP team is moving more towards an application-server architecture, because they know that the native compiled-in mod to Apache/iPlanet/etc is kludgy. They're cooperating with Sun and others on JSF so PHP will be able to speak with Java applications in a more efficient way. mod_perl I won't even bother with. The MVC model simply won't work under mod_perl. Good luck with an implementation team of more than, say, 5 people.

Re:Bad examples.

[Dom2]

The MVC model simply won't work under mod_perl

Hmmm, you must be smoking something good. Whilst there are some things you can't do under mod_perl (realtime perhaps), MVC is not one of them. In fact, you have an enourmous amount of choice when it comes to mod_perl and MVC - mason, Apache::Template, PageKit, AxKit and so on. There are many other tools to help you with MVC, or you can roll your own if you've sufficient hubris to think that none of the existing stuff does its job.

Please try to research your rants a little better.

-Dom

So its happened...

[holzp]

To defeat Gates, Scott McNealy has finally made a deal with the devil..er..daemon..

Re:3 years later?

[mi]

The java/jdk13 port was added to FreeBSD on Aug 27, 2001 -- according to CVS.

Now, _two_ years later, there is an _officially licensed_ binary package available. All "serious developers" could, and many did consider FreeBSD quite suitable for years... But it takes a lot of effort to get an official license to distribute the binaries. And not just the coding effort, which would be the FreeBSD people's idea of fun. It is mostly the legalese and paperwork kind of effort, which most sane people hate...

Re:Native Threads Support?

[Wastl]

As far as I know you can have native threads with the JDK 1.3 port and above if you are running under FreeBSD 5.1. Here the message from the Makefile:

"You must have a version of FreeBSD later than 4.7-STABLE February 2003 or 5-CURRENT February 2003 to use either native threads or HotSpot."

However, native threads do not work for the Java plugin in Mozilla yet.

Sebastian