Release Notes

Contents

• » Introduction
• » Installing the JRE
• » Using the Run Time Environment
• » Using the Plug-in
  • » Installing and Running SWB and the Plug-In
  • » Placing Plug-ins
  • » The Plug-in Control Panel
• » Using Java Web Start
• » Redistributing the JRE
• » Bundling the JRE
• » Problem Reporting

Introduction

Thank you for downloading J2SE™ Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0-6 for the OpenVMS Alpha Operating System for the Java™ Platform (hereafter called the JRE). The JRE comprises the Java virtual machine, the Java platform core classes, and supporting files. It is the runtime part of J2SE™ Development Kit (JDK) 5.0-6 for the OpenVMS Alpha Operating System for the Java Platform (hereafter called the JDK), but without the development tools such as compilers and debuggers. The JRE contains Plug-in software that enables Secure Web Browser (SWB) based on Mozilla® (1.7-8 or higher) or based on SeaMonkey ( 1.1-12 or higher) to use the JRE to run Java applets. These Release Notes provide installation instructions for the JRE and information that may be useful for developers who want to redistribute the JRE with their software. Also, note that the Fast Virtual Machine (Fast VM) is included with the JRE kit. After installing the JRE, you select either the Fast VM or the classic VM as your virtual machine, as described in Using the Run Time Environment. This JRE 5.0 release also contains support for running Java Web Start on OpenVMS. For more information about this release, refer to the JDK 5.0-6 Release Notes and the JDK 5.0x User Guide.

IMPORTANT: Please make sure you understand the Copyright (copyright.html, installed file) and License (license.html, installed file) information before using this release. On OpenVMS, the Java virtual machine has a minimum required value for PGFLQUOTA of 196608 blocks (96 MB). Please see section Setting Process Quotas for Better Performance on OpenVMS in the JDK User Guide for more information.

Installing the JRE

To install and use this kit on OpenVMS systems, you must first download and install the operating system patches. See the product page on the Web site for more information.

HP suggests that the JRE be installed in its own subdirectory (referred in Figure 1 as <JRE_RUNTIME_BASE>). This allows you to update the JRE independently of updates to your application, and vice versa.

Figure 1: Sample JRE Installation

  
              <APP-DIR>
                  |
 +---------+------+---------------------+
 |         |                            |
BIN       LIB                   <JRE_RUNTIME_BASE>
           |                            |
     APPLICATION.JAR         +----------+--------+-------+
                             |          |        |       |       
                            BIN        LIB    PLUGIN    DOC

                                   Supplied by HP

The files that make up the JRE are bundled into two OpenVMS BACKUP save sets:

JRE-V150-6_A.SAV
JRE-V150-6_A.SAV is a REQUIRED subset of files (approximately 133,000 blocks). Your licensing agreement requires that if you redistribute any part of the JRE, you must redistribute this set of files in its entirety. If you do not distribute all files, the JRE and your application may not work. To obtain a detailed list of the files in this save set, use the following command:

$ BACKUP/LIST JRE-V150-6_A.SAV/SAVE_SET

Note: The Fast VM files are included in this save set.

JRE-V150-6_B.SAV
The second save set, JRE-V150-6_B.SAV is an OPTIONAL subset of files (approximately 20,000 blocks). You may need some of these files to fully support your application in an international arena. This set does not need to be deployed in its entirety. To list the files in the optional save set, issue the following command:

$ BACKUP/LIST JRE-V150-6_B.SAV/SAVE

To download and unpack the REQUIRED and OPTIONAL save sets, do the following:

1. Download:
   Download DEC-AXPVMS-JRE-V0105-6-1.SAV_SFX_AXPEXE (approximately 74,000 blocks) from our web site. Execute this file to create the JRE-V150-6_A.SAV and JRE-V150-6_B.SAV save sets:

   $ RUN DEC-AXPVMS-JRE-V0105-6-1.SAV_SFX_AXPEXE

2. Unpack Save Sets:
   Unpack the JRE-V150-6_A.SAV and JRE-V150-6_B.SAV files into the appropriate subdirectories of your application. Continuing with the typical directory structure illustrated in Figure 1, move the save sets into the [.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE] directory, then issue the following commands (edited to match your actual disk and directory names):

   $! Position yourself to the base directory for the JRE components
$ SET DEFAULT USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE]
$!
$! To unpack the JRE-V150-6_A.SAV save set,
$ BACKUP JRE-V150-6_A.SAV/SAVE [...]*.*
$!
$! To optionally unpack the JRE-V150-6_B.SAV save set,
$ BACKUP JRE-V150-6_B.SAV/SAVE [...]*.*

For information on bundling the JRE with application software for redistribution, refer to Bundling the JRE.

Using the Run Time Environment

After installing the JRE, a number of symbols and logicals need to be set up to enable you to use the JRE. A JRE setup command file, JAVA$150_JRE_SETUP.COM, is deposited into the [.LIB] directory, resulting from restoring JRE-V150-6_A.SAV. You can select either the classic VM or Fast VM as your virtual machine using this command file. Run this command file as follows:

   $ @USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE.LIB]JAVA$150_JRE_SETUP  [FAST | Classic]

Starting with JRE 5.0-4, the Fast VM will be the default virtual machine for OpenVMS Alpha. In previous versions, the classic VM was the default. The default virtual machine can be set to the Classic VM by defining JAVA$DEFAULT_VM to CLASSIC, when no VM is explicitly selected when issuing JAVA$150_JRE_SETUP.COM. The following table shows the VM parameter values you can specify to JAVA$150_JRE_SETUP.COM, and the corresponding VM selected for Alpha and Integrity systems:

Parameter Value	OpenVMS Alpha	OpenVMS Integrity
No VM parameter specified	Fast VM	Hot Spot
FAST	Fast VM	Hot Spot
HOTSPOT	Fast VM	Hot Spot
CLASSIC	Classic VM	None

Note: If JAVA$DEFAULT_VM is defined, its value takes precedence over any parameter value passed to JAVA$150_JRE_SETUP.COM.

The Java command-line tool can then be used to launch your Java application using the JRE.

Using the Plug-in

Plug-in 5.0 enables users to run Java applets and JavaBeans™ components on web pages using the JRE as an alternative to using the default virtual machine for Java 2 that comes with the web browser. It is based on Java Plug-in 5.0 provided by Sun Microsystems and contains similar functionality.

For additional information on topics such as Java Plug-in Security, using signed applets, JNI and Java Plug-in, Using Java Plug-in in Intranet Environments, and How Proxy Configuration Works in Java Plug-in, see the Sun Microsystems Java Plug-in Technology web page.

Note: You must be running SWB 1.7-8 or higher based on Mozilla®, or SWB 1.1-12 (or higher) based on SeaMonkey.

Installing and Running SWB and the Plug-in

Note: These instructions are written for SWB based on Mozilla, but the instructions for SWB based on SeaMonkey are similar.

To install Mozilla:

1. Download Mozilla.
2. Refer to HP Secure Web Browser for OpenVMS Alpha (based on Mozilla) Installation Guide and Release Notes to install Mozilla on your system.

To run Mozilla:

$ @sys$common:[cswb]mozilla

Note: We strongly recommend that you run Mozilla as an interactive job as indicated above.

If you spawn it off as a subprocess

$ spawn/nowait @sys$common:[cswb]mozilla

you will likely exhaust some resources if you attempt to use the plug-ins for anything non-trivial.

To enable the JRE within your browser:

1. Set preference:
   
Edit->Preferences
   Click on Advanced.
   Check button labeled Enable Java.
   
   
2. Exit Mozilla.
   
   
3. When both JRE 5.0 and Mozilla have been installed, perform a one-time file copy to install the Plug-in:
   
   $ copy /prot=W:RE USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE.PLUGIN.ALPHA.NS610]LIBJAVAPLUGIN_OJI.SO - SYS$COMMON:[CSWB.PLUGINS]

Thereafter, you can set up for Java operation:
   
   $ @USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE.LIB]JAVA$150_JRE_SETUP.COM

where USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE. denotes the actual disk and directory name where you installed the JRE.
   
   
4. Then run Mozilla:
   
   $ @sys$common:[cswb]mozilla
   
   Mozilla will notice that new plug-ins are available and will then initialize those plug-ins for the current invocation.

To verify that Mozilla has found the plug-ins refer to:

Help->About Plug-ins

Mozilla will display the plug-ins it has initialized.

Placing Plug-ins

You can choose where to place plug-ins.

For system-wide usage, use the respective location in the Mozilla/SWB installation tree:

$ copy /PROT=W:RE -
USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE.PLUGIN.ALPHA.NS610]LIBJAVAPLUGIN_OJI.SO -
SYS$COMMON:[CSWB.PLUGINS]

You can also use "private" plug-ins by creating a [.PLUGINS] directory in your _MOZILLA directory (which resides in SYS$LOGIN). For example:

USERS:[FLINTSTONE._MOZILLA.PLUGINS]

To use this "private" plug-ins area:

$ copy /PROT=W:RE -
USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE.PLUGIN.ALPHA.NS610]LIBJAVAPLUGIN_OJI.SO -
USERS:[FLINTSTONE._MOZILLA.PLUGINS]

Essentially, if you place a LIBJAVAPLUGIN_OJI.SO into USERS:[FLINTSTONE._MOZILLA.PLUGINS], it will be used by Mozilla and override what is in SYS$COMMON:[CSWB.PLUGINS].

The Plug-in Control Panel

A Plug-in Control Panel lets you change Plug-in options such as proxies and enabling of the Java console window. It also allows you to switch the JRE version you want to run with your Plug-in. To run the Control Panel, enter the following command:

$ ControlPanel

Please refer to Sun's Java Control Panel web page for information about additional features and uses of the Java Plug-in Control Panel.

Using Java Web Start

Java Web Start provides the ability to run Java applications with a single click from your Web browser. If the application is not on your system, Java Web Start will download all needed files to run the application. It caches these files on your system so that the application can be rerun without having to once again download the application.

In most cases, Java Web Start for OpenVMS works as described in Sun’s Java Web Start documentation. However, some OpenVMS specific setup tasks must be done before running Java Web Start applications from the HP Secure Web Browser for OpenVMS Alpha (based on Mozilla).

These setup tasks are:

1. Install both the required and optional JRE 5.0-6 OpenVMS BACKUP save sets.
   
   
2. Download and install the HP Secure Web Browser for OpenVMS Alpha (based on Mozilla).
   
   
3. Define a helper application for jnlp files in Mozilla by doing the following:
   Run Mozilla interactively.
   When Mozilla comes up, click on “Preferences…” in Mozilla’s “Edit” menu.
   Click on “Helper Applications.”
   Click on “New Type.”
   Enter the following information:
   
   

   Mime Type:	application/x-java-jnlp-file
   Description:	Java Web Start
   Extension:	jnlp
   Open it with:	/user1$/app-dir/jre_runtime_base/lib/java$150_javaws.com

   
   where /user1$/app-dir/jre_runtime_base denotes the actual disk and directory name where you installed the JRE. Then, press “OK.”

To run Java Web Start as a standalone application, install both the required and optional JRE 5.0-6 OpenVMS BACKUP save sets. Then enter the commands:

$ @USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE.LIB]JAVA$150_JRE_SETUP.COM
where USER1$:[APP-DIR.JRE_RUNTIME_BASE. denotes the actual disk and directory name where you installed the JRE.
$ define DECC$EFS_CASE_PRESERVE ENABLE
$ javaws

Setting DECC$EFS_CASE_PRESERVE will enhance Java Web Start’s ability to find cached applications on your system.

Redistributing the JRE

If you redistribute the JRE, you must follow the terms of the JRE Binary Code License agreement, which includes these terms:

• Do not arbitrarily subset the JRE. You may omit only the files in the JRE-V150-6_B.SAV optional subset.
  
  
• Include in your product's license the provisions called out in the JRE Binary Code License.

The following JDK files may be redistributed with the JRE:

• SYS$COMMON:[JAVA$150.BIN]JAVAC.
• SYS$COMMON:[JAVA$150.BIN]JAVA$JAVAC.EXE
• SYS$COMMON:[JAVA$150.LIB]TOOLS.JAR
  

These files include Java 2 JDK tools classes, including the classes for the javac compiler.

Bundling the JRE

For your end users to run your software, they'll need a Java runtime environment installed on their systems. The JDK contains a runtime environment, of course, so your customers could use that if they happen to have it installed. However, a better bet for most of your end users will be the JRE, for several reasons:

• The JRE is redistributable, unlike the JDK. The JRE Binary Code License agreement allows you to package it with your software. By distributing the JRE with your application, you can ensure that your customers will have the correct version of the runtime environment for running your software. In other words, your customers will be running the exact code you've tested.
  
  
• The JRE is smaller than the JDK. The JRE contains everything your users will need to run your software, but it leaves out the development tools, demo applets, and applications that are part of the JDK. Because the JRE is relatively small, it's easier for you to package with your software or for your users to download themselves from our web site.

Table 1 below lists the notable differences between the JRE and the JDK:

Table 1: Notable Differences Between the JRE and the JDK

For more information on bundling an application in a Java Archive (JAR) file, refer to Packaging Your Application in a JAR File on Sun's site.

When bundling the JRE with application software on the OpenVMS Alpha platform, the following points should be considered:

1. Software vendors should bundle the JRE files and an installer with the Java software they supply to end-users. HP suggests that the JRE be installed in its own subdirectory (called <JRE_RUNTIME_BASE> in Figure 1). This allows you to update the JRE independently of updates to your application, and vice versa.
   
2. In addition to unpacking the files in the JRE, a number of symbols and logicals need to be set up to make your application run within the JRE. When you deploy your application, you will have to include your own .COM files that accomplish these setups. An JRE setup command file, JAVA$150_JRE_SETUP.COM, is deposited into the [.LIB] directory, resulting from restoring JRE-V150-6_A.SAV. This file contains the key commands you will need to merge into your application setup command file.
   
3. The JRE operates with a special set of class libraries — RT.JAR. Your application must function with just these libraries.
   
4. You are not allowed to redistribute any class files from the JDK, and your application should have no dependencies on these files. You can redistribute the jar files that are part of the JRE.
   
5. HP recommends that you not rely on the CLASSPATH logical that might be on the target system, but explicitly identify the classpath by specifying the -cp option on the Java command line that invokes the JRE. (For more information on using the -cp option of the Java command, refer to Sun's Tools and Utilities documentation.)
   Hence, a typical Java command line when using the JRE will look like:
   $ JAVA -cp "/USER1$/APP-DIR/LIB/APPLICATION.JAR:." "Application"

Problem Reporting

To report problems, refer to our Software Support web page.