SUMMARY: Netscape Communicator 4.01b6: Java not running under DU 4.0b

From: Thomas Leitner <tom_at_finwds01.tu-graz.ac.at>
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 11:48:31 +0200 (MET DST)

Hello everybody,

First of all: The majority of people asked me where I got this
Communicator version from. Just check:

ftp://ftp.netscape.com/pub/communicator/4.01/4.01b6/english/unix/other/

Now, the story is this: Somehow I was under the impression that the
problem with Netscape requiring an old libXt.so has already been
fixed under Digital Unix 4.0b and so I thought the problem was something
else. Actually, though, the problem still persists even with the
latest beta (#6) of Netscape Communicator 4.01! If you're running
Digital Unix 4.0b, the old libxt.so is already delivered with the
system as Netscape 3.01 comes with the system as well.

So in order to get the latest Communicator going just install it
as described in the instructions which come with the distribution
file and use a script like this to start it:

#!/bin/sh
MOZILLA_HOME=/usr/local/netscape; export MOZILLA_HOME
XAPPLRESDIR=/usr/local/netscape; export XAPPLRESDIR
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/netscape; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH
exec $MOZILLA_HOME/netscape $*

The directory /usr/lib/netscape is the directory where the old libXt.so
resides. If you are running a DU version prior to 4.0B you can get a
kit from DEC which contains this version (refer to the answer below
for a more info).

So thanks to the following people for their help (sorry if I forgot
someone):

               jackb_at_pgw.picker.com
               John Wiebe <jwiebe_at_ptc.com>
               Erik Persson <erik_at_lysator.liu.se>

Tom

Here is my original question:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm trying to run Netscape Communicator 4.01b6 under Digital Unix 4.0b
with the latest Patch Kit (004) installed and Java doesn't seem to run.

I open the Java Console, it says "Java starting" and the console
stays empty even when I load a page with a Java Applet. The Applet
does not start either.

Anyone any idea what could be wrong? Or did DEC screw up Netscape 4.01b6
with their latest Pthreads modification in patch kit #4?

Here are their answers:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>From jackb_at_pgw.picker.com Thu Jul 10 11:35:13 1997
Subject: Re: Netscape Communicator 4.01b6: Java not running under DU 4.0b

>From Netscapes Support Page:

Problem: Java applets don't display when running them with Navigator
on Digital Unix 4.0.

Solution: Obtain the modified libXt.so from Digital. This should work
with either Digital Unix 4.0 or 4.0a. Copy it to a shared directory.
Before the Navigator is run, set LD_LIBRARY_PATH to point to the
directory where the modified libXt.so is located.

The modified libXt is included in the Navigator kit available
for download on the external Digital Unix site at:

http://www.unix.digital.com/products/internet/download.html

Hope this helps!

-Jack

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

>From erik_at_lysator.liu.se Thu Jul 10 11:36:12 1997
Date: 09 Jul 1997 14:57:43 +0200
From: Erik Persson <erik_at_lysator.liu.se>
To: Thomas Leitner <tom_at_finwds01.tu-graz.ac.at>
Subject: Re: Netscape Communicator 4.01b6: Java not running under DU 4.0b

Thomas Leitner <tom_at_finwds01.tu-graz.ac.at> writes:

[...]

I have the same setup as do you. It seems that Netscape still needs
the X11R5 libXt.so. If you install netscape v3 along with Digital
Unix, you can find this library in /usr/lib/netscape. Use this
location or copy libXt.so to where you want to keep it. Then make a
wrapper script for communicator that sets LD_LIBRARY_PATH - maybe like
I have done:

--->snip<---
#!/bin/ksh

# libXt.so is located in NAVDIR

NAVDIR=/usr/local/netscape
XAPPLRESDIR=$NAVDIR/ad_v401b6

uname -a | grep -q V4.0
if [ $? -eq 0 ]
then
    if [ -f $NAVDIR/libXt.so ]
    then
        export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$NAVDIR:/usr/shlib:/usr/lib
    else
        echo "WARNING: This script can't find the modified X Toolkit library"
        echo "that is required for Java applets to function correctly."
        echo
        echo "Invoking Netscape, but don't expect Java to work..."
        echo
    fi

fi

if [ -x /usr/local/netscape/netscape-v401b6.bin ]
then
        exec /usr/local/netscape/netscape-v401b6.bin -name netscape
$*
else
        echo "ERROR: This script can't find the real-netscape binary."
        exit 0
fi
--->snip<---

This works pretty well for me, but it seems as if Communicator
sometimes gets problems resolving names. This gets worse if /usr/shlib
and /usr/lib aren't present in LD_LIBRARY_PATH - why I don't really
understand. Note that the reference to XAPPLRESDIR is also specific
fro my setup. If oyu do exactly like my you would create
/usr/local/netscape/ad_v401b6 and rename Netscape.ad to just Netscape
nad move it to ad_v401b6.

Hope this helps.

/Erik

-- 
Erik Persson                   Home: +46 13 12 38 89
Banergatan 9                   Work: +46 13 28 24 64
582 32 Linkoping, Sweden       e-mail: erik_at_lysator.liu.se
>From straw_at_zk3.dec.com Thu Jul 10 11:45:15 1997
Date: Wed, 09 Jul 1997 10:50:53 -0400
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Cliff Straw <straw_at_zk3.dec.com>
Subject: Re: Netscape Communicator 4.01b6: Java not running with DU 4.0b!
Newsgroups: comp.unix.osf.osf1
Thomas Leitner wrote:
[...]
Thank you for trying the beta version of Communicator on Digital UNIX.
This problem is caused by a long standing bug in Netscape Navigator,
which has now migrated to Netscape Communicator.
The root of the problem is the use of the C RTL function poll() versus
select() in the X Toolkit library (libXt).  In X11R5, libXt performed
all of its I/O multiplexing using the select() call.  With X11R6 the
default option is have libXt use the C RTL function poll() instead of
select() for I/O multiplexing.  For performance reasons, the X11R6 libXt
that ships with Digital UNIX V4.0 uses poll() instead of select().  The
use of select() or poll() by libXt is undocumented.  Any vendor shipping
libXt is free to choose which mechanism to use.
Netscape Navigator takes advantage of this undocumented implementation
detail to intercept calls to slect(), which allows it to manage its
threads and to distribute X events among these threads. Unfortunately,
Navigator does not intercept calls to poll().  The result when using a
libXt built with poll() is that only the main thread (which controls the
main Navigator windows) receives and processes X events, other threads
(which control Java applets and the Java console window) never receive
any X events and consequently appear to be "dead".
The Netscape Navigator Gold kit available from the Digital web site
patches this problem by shipping a special version of libXt built to use
select(). This libXt is only used when running Navigator.
Netscape has told us that this problem will be fixed in Communicator.  A
temporary workaround is to download the Navigator Gold V3.01 kit from
http://www.unix.digital.com/products/internet. Extract the libXt.so
library to a directory (DO NOT replace /usr/shlib/libXt.so with this).
Before running Communicator, set the environment variable
LD_LIBRARY_PATH to the path where you placed libXt.so
--
Cliff Straw                        Digital UNIX Web Software Group
Mailstop: ZKO3-2/W17               email: straw_at_zk3.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corporation      (603) 881-0949
110 Spit Brook Road                (dtn) 381-0949
Nashua, NH 03062-2698
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
T o m   L e i t n e r                       Dept. of Communications
                                            Graz University of Technology, 
e-mail    : tom_at_finwds01.tu-graz.ac.at      Inffeldgasse 12
Phone     : +43-316-873-7455                A-8010 Graz / Austria / Europe
Fax       : +43-316-463-697
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Received on Thu Jul 10 1997 - 12:34:06 NZST

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