USE_JAVA implies jdk?

[Herve Quiroz]

Hi Archie,

On Mon, Mar 28, 2005 at 08:17:21PM -0600, Archie Cobbs wrote:
> It seems that USE_JAVA implies pulling in the JDK. But this is
> not always necessary, e.g., when compiling the java/classpath port.
> All that's needed is jikes, but not the whole JDK.
> 
> Could it be possible to say USE_JIKES=yes but not USE_JAVA=yes?

So far, the USE_JAVA macro in bsd.port.mk has been implemented to
support the multitude of available JDKs. USE_JIKES has been added so
that Jikes may replace JAVAC in a transparent way (if already installed
and not forbidden by the port).

So for now, there's no USE_JIKES support for ports that don't use a JDK
(and thus don't define USE_JAVA). You will have to define the build/run
dependency manually.

Anyway, that's not really related but someone (lioux IIRC) already
pointed out to us that there are "alternative" Java implementations,
such as GCJ, and I also had a look at Kaffe. Unfortunately, those Java
tools are not supported by bsd.java.mk ATM (nor by javavmwrapper). This
is mostly due to my lack of knowledge in the topic, although I think it
could be great to support them as well.

I think it's time to discuss this issue so that we may decide if (and
how) we could add support for non-JDK Java implementations into
bsd.java.mk. I've set up a Wiki page just in case:

http://wikitest.freebsd.org/moin.cgi/GcjAndKaffe

Herve