[kepler-dev] Java 1.7

[Christopher Brooks]

Dear Christoph Daniel,
Ptolemy II currently requires Java 1.6.
At a minimum, $PTII/ptdb uses javax.swing.GroupLayout somewhere.

The problem with requiring Java 1.7 is that Mac OS 10.7.4 has Java 1.6 
installed as the default:

bash-3.2$ java -version
java version "1.6.0_33"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_33-b03-424-11M3720)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.8-b03-424, mixed mode)
bash-3.2$ which java
/System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home/bin/java

There is a Java 1.7 prerelease for the Mac available at:

http://jdk7.java.net/macportpreview/

So, until Java 1.7 is the default under Mac OS X, then we should 
probably stick to 1.6.

This could change because Apple is no longer supporting Java, so Java 
1.6 is probably the last Apple Java release.

However, Java 1.7 for Mac OS X is still in pre-release, so I'd prefer 
not to add another step to the installation process.

However, if Eclipse 3.8 requires Java 1.7, then we may be forced to 
require Java 1.7.

Waiting until September to make a decision is probably best.

Comments?  I'm cc'ing kepler-dev, which includes many Mac users.


_Christopher



On 7/9/12 7:24 AM, Christoph Daniel Schulze wrote:
> Dear Christopher,
>
> the KIELER team is currently in the process of planning the switch to
> Eclipse 3.8 and, later, Eclipse 4.2. As part of that, we're also
> reconsidering to raise our Java compliance level from 1.5 to 1.7. Of
> course, we need to be sure that this change won't break anything for our
> partners.
>
> Would the Ptolemy project be fine with its KIELER components using Java
> 1.7 features? This of course wouldn't become an issue until our visit in
> September, during which I plan to further improve the layout algorithms
> and its integration into Ptolemy.
>
> Kind regards,
>   Christoph Daniel
>

-- 
Christopher Brooks, PMP                       University of California
CHESS Executive Director                      US Mail: 337 Cory Hall
Programmer/Analyst CHESS/Ptolemy/Trust        Berkeley, CA 94720-1774
ph: 510.643.9841                                (Office: 545Q Cory)
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