[kepler-dev] [Bug 5333] 2.2 rc3: getenv("") doesn't work for mac installation.

[bugzilla-daemon at ecoinformatics.org]

http://bugzilla.ecoinformatics.org/show_bug.cgi?id=5333

Christopher Brooks <cxh at eecs.berkeley.edu> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Priority|P2                          |P4
                 CC|                            |cxh at eecs.berkeley.edu
            Version|2.1.0                       |2.3.0
         OS/Version|MacOS X 10.6.x              |MacOS X 10.7.x
           Severity|normal                      |enhancement

--- Comment #4 from Christopher Brooks <cxh at eecs.berkeley.edu> 2012-06-19 10:16:01 PDT ---
I don't think this is really a Kepler bug.

The problem is that environment variables are poorly supported under Mac OS X.

To set environment variables for applications that are run by double clicking
on a icon, one must edit ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist 
There is a property list editor, but it might only be available to
users who have installed XCode.
See
https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPRuntimeConfig/Articles/EnvironmentVars.html

One possible enhancement would be to provide a properties file that can
be edited.
In Ptolemy II, ./configure reads lib/ptII.properties.in and creates
lib/ptII.properties

This file is read in by StringUtilities.mergePropertiesFile().                 
                     Properties listed in this file do not override preexisting
properties.

The way to control which JVM is invoked is by using the Java Preferences app
under Utilities.  Adding this sort of functionality to Kepler will increase
support costs.

Mac OS X is moving away from being a useful OS for developers and becoming
a locked-down garden for consumers.  Fighting this is an uphill battle.

Our best bet it to have a good FAQ that points to recent Apple docs about
how to do these things (set environment variables, choose a JVM).

I'm marking this as an enhancement because the system works as it should.
I'm lowering the priority slightly as well.
Feel free to change these.

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