[gentoo-java] contributing to Gentoo Java

[Scott Amort]

Hello,

I have recently been tasked with developing and maintaining a web server
at work using Apache's Lenya CMS (lenya.apache.org).  I thought setting
up a mock system on my Gentoo box would give me a good place to play and
learn.  However, I notice many of the ebuilds required for Lenya (i.e.
Cocoon, Excalibur and even Lenya itself) are either missing or quite
outdated.  I am happy to create/update and contribute these ebuilds, but
I will need some guidance and assistance.  I have worked with and edited
ebuilds in the past, but quite rarely for Java apps.  Here are some
starter questions:

1) Has anyone else already started this work?  I don't want to duplicate
other people's work.

2) I have read and will follow the ebuild documentation at:
http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/java/java-devel.xml, however it is rather
basic.  My first major question is how to deal with Java Ant files that
get jar dependencies rather than provide them (the example that just
deletes distributed jars will not work in this instance)?

3) Many of Lenya's Java dependencies are part of the Excalibur project
which contains updates to the now closed Avalon project (i.e.
avalon-logkit, avalon-framework-api, avalon-framework-imp).  Has there
been any discussion on where/how to deal with these new libraries?  Is
anyone aware of API changes or other possible issues?

Finally, while I have a strong programming background, it has been
mainly focused around some C++ apps as of late, so my Java is a bit
rusty, and my familiarity with Ant is limited.  I may need some basic
assistance while I get myself up to speed.

So, I guess I am wondering what the best way to get started on this is?
Thanks for any assistance.

Best,
Scott

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