Welcome to the home of the JDEE, an add-on software package that turns Emacs into a comprehensive system for creating, editing, debugging, and documenting Java applications. This site aims to provide you with complete information on downloading and installing the JDEE and obtaining technical support. The JDEE maintainers would like to thank SunSITE Denmark for serving as the JDEE's host for many years. JDEE is now in the process of moving to sourceforge.
Note For additional information on installing and using the JDEE, see "Emacs and JDEE as software development environment" by Artur Hefczyc.
The JDEE is a software package that interfaces Emacs to command-line Java development tools (for example, JavaSoft's JDK). JDEE features include:
The JDEE supports both Emacs (Unix and Windows versions) and XEmacs. It is freely available under the GNU public license.
Note Windows 2000 has a bug that hangs JDEbug, the JDEE's debugger. To run JDEbug on Windows 2000, you must install Service Pack 2, which fixes the bug.
See JDEE Quick Tour for a quick tour of the JDEE's capabilities.
The JDEE requires the following software:
The latest version of Emacs or XEmacs on Unix platforms; NT/Emacs on Windows platforms.
The JDEE works with previous minor versions of Emacs and XEmacs 20. However, technical support is provided only for the latest versions.
The latest version of the Collection of Emacs Development Environment Tools (CEDET) developed by Eric Ludlam
The Emacs Lisp library (elib) package. You can download the package in compressed tar format from the JDEE web site.
Java Development Kit (JDK) or compatible set of Java development tools (compiler, virtual machine, debugger, class libraries, etc.)
Web browser (e.g., Netscape or Internet Explorer) for viewing documentation.
See Specifying a Browser for information on configuring Emacs to use a browser.
In addition to the required packages, I recommend that you also install the Emacs Code Browser (ECB). ECB greatly facilitates the JDEE's use in developing applications that comprise many classes.
To download JDEE, visit the project download area. See the JDEE release notes for a description of the changes included in the production release.
See Installing the JDEE for information on installing the JDEE on a Unix or Windows system.
Artur Hefczyc has created a Unix shell script that downloads, unzips, and compiles the JDEE and all the packages that it requires. See the script help page for more information.
Bug fix notices posted to the JDEE mailing list may instruct you to download patched files from the JDEE's Subversion repository. You should use the repository only for this purpose. Do not try to use the repository to update your instance of the JDE to the latest development version as the development version may be unstable.
The JDEE distribution includes the JDEE User's Guide. You can also get help via the Emacs M-x apropos and Ctl-h commands.
See Contributed Software for a list of tools contributed by JDEE users that you can download from this site.
The JDEE mailing lists provides a technical support, design, and news forum for JDEE. If you are having problems setting up or using the JDEE, would like to propose and discuss enhancements, or simply be advised of the latest JDEE developments, this is the place to turn. Subscription and archives are available from the Sourceforge Mailing List page.
If you have a problem with the JDEE, first check the JDEE Troubleshooting Guide. Next make sure that you have installed the latest version of the JDEE and the latest versions of the packages required by JDEE on your system. Also, make sure that that system path and the Emacs load-path variables list the paths to the required packages. Most problems reported by users are installation/setup problems.
Installing Emacs packages can be tricky, especially for Emacs novices. If you are inexperienced, try finding a local Emacs guru to help you. You may also be able to get help installing supporting packages by sending messages to the JDEE mailing list or posting messages to the Emacs help newsgroup (gnu.emacs.help).
If after you have installed the required packages, you still have a problem running the JDEE, please send your problem report (see Requesting Help), preferably, to the JDEE mailing list or, if you are not on the list, to Paul Kinnucan.
Note I generally cc the JDEE list on my replies to JDEE-related mail sent to me personally. I do this if I feel the reply may be useful to other JDEE users in the hope that it will save me from having to repeat the information later. The copied reply generally include quotes from the original mail. If you do not want me to cc the JDEE list, please include a note to this effect at the head of your mail.
When requesting help, it is important that you provide a complete, detailed description of the problem and the Emacs/JDEE environment in which it occurs. That way, you will avoid wasting precious time communicating potentially vital information needed to help you. Also, please do not make the mistake of assuming that you know what information is necessary to solve a problem. If you knew, you would not be asking for help, right? Nearly all the JDEE problems that I have seen are caused by faulty setups. Because Emacs is an open, extensible system, runs on many platforms, and allows unlimited customization, no two Emacs/JDEE setups are alike. Thus, when asking for help, it is particularly vital that you supply a complete description of your Emacs/JDEE environment, including:
host platform (e.g., Windows/NT, Solaris, Linux, etc.)
JDEE version (e.g., JDEE 2.0)
Emacs version (e.g., NT/Emacs 20.7.1)
complete contents of your .emacs file.
Note Please do not make the common mistake of sending only the so-called "JDEE-related" part of an .emacs file. Settings in the omitted portion may conflict in subtle ways with the JDEE portion. Many Emacs users, especially novices, copy all or parts of their .emacs files from other sources without taking pains to understand the copied portions. When reporting a JDEE problem, the owner typically omits the borrowed sections as not "relevant" to the JDEE. Often, on the contrary, it is precisely the omitted portion that is the culprit.
By the way, .emacs files are highly personal things. The
easiest way for an Emacs newcomers to get into hot water
is to borrow some grizzled veteran's overgrown, crufty
.emacs file. An Emacs novice would do better to start
with a blank slate, adding to it gradually and
making sure to understand each addition completely, as it
is added.
Contents of the backtrace buffer if an error occurs.
If the the Lisp variable debug-on-error
is t when an error occurs,
Emacs opens a buffer listing the
sequence of Lisp function calls that led to the error.
This is known as a backtrace. A backtrace often is
enough to determine the cause of an error. You thus
should always include it if it occurs.
To get a backtrace, you
must set the Lisp variable debug-on-error
to t before
the error occurs. The best way to do this is to put the
form (setq debug-on-error t) in your
.emacs file and restart Emacs.
Contents of the *messages* buffer immediately
after the error occurred.
Note The *messages* buffer is called
the "message log" on XEmacs. To display the message log,
execute the command show-message-log.
Contents of the *JDEEbug* buffer if you are having problems
with JDEEbug
Contents of the prj.el file for the project in which the
problem occurred.
If the problem occurs during startup, rerun Emacs, using the -debug-init command line switch. This causes Emacs to stop when an error occurs in your .emacs file and display the resulting backtrace in the backtrace buffer. Include the backtrace in your problem report.
The JDEE includes a JDE->Help->Submit Problem Report command that creates a complete snapshot of your system. If the error occurs after the JDEE is loaded, you can use this command to generate all the information you need to include in the problem report.
The JDEE itself does not have any date dependencies. However, the JDEE requires other software packages that may have date dependencies. The required packages include Emacs, a Java compiler and debugger (e.g., those provided by JavaSoft's Java Development Kit), and a web browser. See Sun's Product Compliance Status page for information on the JDK's Year 2000 compliance.
Paul Kinnucan graduated from MIT in 1970. In the sixties and seventies, he developed numerical and astronomical image processing software for mainframes at the University of Chicago and MIT. In the 1980s, he wrote about computers, factories, aircraft, and spacecraft for various U.S. trade and general-circulation publications. Recently, he has divided his time between software development and technical documentation. He is currently principal technical writer at The MathWorks, Inc, a producer of engineering math and simulation software. He is responsible for documenting the company's simulation software and developing tools for displaying online documentation for MathWorks products. He has a wife (Fran), son (Michael, age 19), and daughter (Emma, 17). He lives with his family in Milton, a suburb of Boston.
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