RE: gnu electric

[Steven Rubin]

>  I have been trying out the electric CAD design program running under
>  a Suse 7.1 operating system.
>
>  I have it running , but I am having some problems with the java interface.
>
>  I installed javarunt-1.1.7v3-25.i386.rpm  and java2-1.3-56.i386.rpm from the
>  7.1
>  Suse rpm's, and followed the instructions in the README.
>
>  Electric compiles but when I look under Windows -> Language interpreter it
>  shows "no Java".
>
>  Any ideas on why electric is not seeing the java ?

You cannot simply install the RPM for Java and expect Electric to use 
it.  You have to make changes to the "Makefile" and rebuild Electric.  See 
the installation instructions for more details.  One thing to check is that 
the RPM that you installed covers the "JDK" (Java Development Kit) which 
includes C compiler headers for interfacing with Java.  I am not familiar 
with the RPMs that you mentioned (in fact, the recommended Java 
installation is different from that, again, see the installation instructions).

A meta-level issue is that, for new users, Java is not necessary.  In fact, 
the interpreted languages (Java, TCL, and LISP) are only needed by very 
advanced users.  If you are just "trying out" Electric, then skip all of 
this and simply start using the system.

   -Steven Rubin