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GNU Classpath 0.06 Released

Item posted by Mark Wielaard <mark> on Fri 19 Sep 2003 02:31:05 PM UTC.

We are pleased to announce a new development release of GNU Classpath. GNU Classpath, Essential Libraries for Java, is a project to create free core class libraries for use with virtual machines and compilers for the Java language.

GNU Classpath 0.06 can be downloaded from ftp://alpha.gnu.org/pub/gnu/classpath/.

About Classpath 0.06:

Update java.awt peers to GTK+2.
java.awt.GridBagLayout implementation.
javax.swing.border implementation.
java.security and java.security.cert updated to 1.4 spec.
New JNI native target code layer. See native/target/readme.txt.
--enable-regen-headers configure flag for automatic jni .h file generation.
Removed workaround for gcj 3.2 and lower, gcj 3.3+ or jikes 1.18+ is now

needed for compiling.

Lots of improvements and/or new classes for java.awt, java.awt.dnd,

java.awt.font, java.awt.geom, java.awt.image, java.io, java.math, java.net,
java.nio, java.rmi, java.text, java.util, javax.swing, javax.swing.plaf,
javax.swing.text.

VM Interface changes:

VMClassLoader.loadClass(), the bootstrap classloader called by

Class.forName() and ClassLoader.loadClass(), may now return null when
a class is not found instead of throwing a new ClassNotFoundException.
This is a performance optimization in some cases. This also changes
the Class.forName() reference code.

Native methods in Class have been moved to VMClass. A few additional

methods are also available in VMClass to provide optional performance
improvements.

A VM can now supply its own String.intern() strategy through the

VMString class. The supplied VMString reference class implements the
original WeakHashMap strategy.

Float and Double to/from bits conversion functions can now be supplied by

the VM through VMFloat and VMDouble. Default JNI conversion methods are
supplied.

Here are the answers to some questions you might have about this project and this release.

1). What is required to build/install/run?

GNU Classpath requires a working GNU build environment and a byte code compiler such as jikes, gcj or kjc. When creating native code you will
also need a working C compiler and up to date Gnome development libraries (gtk+, libart and gdk-pixbuf). More information on the precise version numbers for the tools and libraries can be found in the INSTALL file.

2). What platforms are supported?

GNU/Linux is the only platform that has been tested. We plan to eventually support many others.

3). Who should use this software?

Although it is already capable of supporting many Java applications, this is a development release. As such, there are still some unfinished
components, and some problems are to be expected. You should install it if you are interested in Classpath development or reporting bugs. We
appreciate both.

4). Where do I go for more information?

The project home page with information on our mailing list can be found at http://www.classpath.org/ or http://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/.