The forte ebuild doesn't 21forte anymore, so the 3 lines at the end of the ebuild can be deleted
Actually there's more, v3 is no longer available for download at the ebuild's specified URL for forte. They've bumped the version to v4. It isn't available as a RPM either, so the ebuild may need to be reworked. I thought since someone was going to fix the other issue, they might as well look into bumping the version as well.
well, unless anyone else really wants to do it, I'll make the ebuild. It's been renaimed to Sun One Studio, so I guess I'll call it sun_one_studio.
I've been checking it out to see how this might be done. Unfortunately, the file is an X11 installishield [I can't believe that crap is on linux] binary. Fortunately, it will operate in "silent" mode and parse options for the installation directory and the jdk directory from a local file (I found this in the "Getting Started Guide" available at the same place you grab the installer). Now this is where it gets tricky =). The question is: How will it fit into the java-config framework? I'm not an expert on this aspect, so I really can't say. Perhaps karltk@gentoo.org is the best person to ask, since he's the one who designed the java-config package. As for the name, just call it Sun-ONE-Studio, looks a little nicer w/o the underscores.
I don't think you need to worry about the java-config framework since it's just an editor, it has no need to be in the classpath or anything. As long as there's a suitable java vm installed, it should work fine and not need to mess with java-config.
Can you give some details about running it in silent mode and the external file with options.
Isn't it an ide? I got the impression from the Getting Started Guide that it needed to know the exact path to JDK each time it starts up, and that information is stored in the configuration file. I was just thinking it might be useful to use the java-config just like Ant does. Oh well... As for the command line options, check out the Getting Started Guide [available right below the link to download the binary ] for the options. I know as much as you do about 'em =). Apparently one should make a nnnnnn.sp file with some defined install locations and then run the installer with the -silent flag. But to be sure, checkout the Getting Started Guide.
It is an ide, but I don't remember having to use java-config to get version 3 working.
Aarrgh! One of those wretched Sun-provided binaries again. As Forte/Sun ONE Studio no longer required any env files, I'm probably not going to let it into Portage, because: 0) We have NetBeans, which is the open-sourced version of it. 1) We don't have any packages which depend on it. 2) It's very tricky to package. 3) We cannot mirror it (correct me if I'm wrong, but Sun usually disallows this). 4) It is a high-maintenance package (frequent, unannounced changes upstream which require us to regenerate our md5sums). 5) Quite frankly, it'll be more convenient for the user to just run the X11 installer and put it in /opt himself... Of course, I'd really like to hear _good_ reasons why we should want to provide our users with closed-source apps that break frequently ;P
All good points. The only reason I like forte is that when I tried to use netbeans a couple months ago, it just didn't seem to work as well. Also, my mom was a VP at forte before sun bought/dismantled it.
Now Karl, lets not be so hasty to get angry at Sun. It is somewhat opensource in that I believe they are offering the community edition source code via the Sun Community Source Code license. Anyhow, while I won't dispute your points, I do believe that something is missing. As much as you dislike sun binaries, do considier that they are the benchmark for the Java language. Some people do not have the luxury of using the alternatives. Anyhow, using kaffe or something and you're lucky if you get full Java 1.2api compatibility, let alone any 2.0 compat. I don't anticipate this changing anytime soon. Also, there are plenty of differences between netbeans and forte, more then I could list here. Besides, some of us get a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that it is 100% Sun :-P. The x11 installer is all fine and good, but it doesn't "fit" into how things are done on gentoo. Plus, the ability to add shortcuts to kde/gnome/box menus and other premiums make it an added bonus to emerge it. Finally, this is not a new ebuild, it is an update of an existing one.
We're most likely going to provide the Sun JRE/JDK offerings indefinitely. However, I'm very reluctant to adding more stuff packaged by Sun to Portage, simply because they present a maintenance nightmare. I don't have problem with it being from Sun. I'm not against Sun as a company. It's just that the way they distribute their software makes it impossible to ingegrate seamlessly with Portage. If, however, we can figure out a way where my technical points are addressed, I don't have a problem. It's not the licensing I'm anal about, I use various Sun binaries myself quite happily. If we could get to an arrangement with Sun where we were allowed to redistribute their binaries, all of this would go away, but that's highly unlikely. We have mechanisms for only installing software for which the user has agreed to a particular license, so I think we're able to satisfy the legal requirements on that aspect.
I've retired Forte, so this bug report is no longer pertinent. If there is demand for Sun ONE Studio, I suggest interested parties submit an ebuild for it, and I'll be sure to include it.