What exactly do you think you are doing?
I am trying to get my system all set up so I can work on a programming project I have long laid to rest, but am considering reviving. Not only do I hope to have some fun with programming again, but I thought it would be a good project to learn more about Ubuntu and other new software.
The Goal
For no big reason, I want to use Ruby for the project – and I have picked the Netbeans IDE to try. If these don’t work out, I might switch, but for now that’s the plan.
The Stumbling Blocks
First, to install NetBeans. The version in the repositories is 5.5, but I see on the webpage 6.0 is out so I want to install the newer version. There is an installer which ran, but only opened up to a blank screen. A search revealed there are some problems with Java and CompizFusion. I installed the Java 6 SDK and used that, and things seem to be appearing fine. Another option would be to turn of Compiz I suppose.
NetBeans Installation Quirk: The “–help” refers to the “–javahome” command line switch, but the error message refers to the “–jdkhome” switch. It is “–jdkhome” that is correct.
(I actually tried a couple of different times with differing Java things, but I was trying to install jedit, but I gave up on that. I kept getting a bad Java error with it.)
The next thing I wanted to do was to set up a launcher for NetBeans in AWM – this is where I ran into a couple of minor things that I don’t like:
1. If you look at a desktop launcher, you can click on the icon to browse for a different icon. However, I couldn’t find a way to determine the current icon location, which I needed to create the launcher for AWM. Google Desktop saved the day for me here.
2. AWM need to be easier to click on to add a launcher, it seems like there is only the smallest areas on the edges that work. And, when you add a launcher, it doesn’t appear – you have to close AWM and re-start it.
The future
I don’t know Ruby, so it will take me some time to get going I am sure. I won’t fill this blog up with programming or Ruby talk, but I suspect some general Ubuntu-related material might come up from the effort.
A footnote
On the off chance that someone is interested in helping with this project, they are welcome to contact me about it! I plan to get something going in Launchpad once I get further along.
