[gentoo-soc] Gentoo/Java integration Project Weekly report #2

[Jiale Pan (Kyle Pan)]

Hi everyone,
This is second weekly report of my Gsoc Project--Gentoo/Java integration

First some introduction to the project:
-----------------------project introduction--------------------------------
The project includes an improvement to current java-config and a new 
eclipse-plugin. The plug-in, which when clicked, lists system installed java 
libraries for users to select and import into projects. This avoids user 
manually browses and locates system installed libraries, making developing more 
efficient and comfortable. The existing tool java-config, with some necessary 
improvements, is chosen as the data retrieval backend of this project. Jython 
is used to integrate java-config to the plug-in.This project will mainly 
benefit developers using eclipse, and due to planned work on improvements to 
java-config, it will benefit java-config project and even non-developer gentoo 
users as well.

------------------------progress of this week --------------------------------


In this week I read a lot of Python docs and did a lot of practice. During the 
time from a newbie of Python to now that I can say I'm quite familiar with 
Python, I learned a lot.
Base on that, I read through the java-config source code and add the two 
functionalities to it as planned:
1. add query package's javadoc path of specified package functionality.
     *currently usage: java-config -D PACKAGE ,--javadoc=PACKAGE to do that
2. add query package's javasrc path of specified package functionality.
     *currently usage: java-config -C PACKAGE, --src=PACKAGE to do that.

(if -D and/or -C options are not proper (eg reserved for other use,etc.) or 
there are other considerations, please mention it in reply and I can change to 
other words)

---------------------------------issues-----------------------------------

I've already mentioned the compatibility issue in my last weekly report. But 
still I cannot decide a solution. Since my mentor is devaway(he mentioned in 
his last mail),so ***I'd like to ask experienced developers for help here***. 
And thanks in advance:

At my current knowledge of Python I think it is impossible to write one code 
snippet in Exception handling that both compile in Python 2.5 and 3.1:

Python 2.5 takes " except UnexistingPackageError, e" Syntax
while Python 3.1 takes "except UnexistingPackageError as e". Syntax.

I have to write Python 2.5 compatible code( because the latest Jython is 2.5 
and I'm intended to use it in my eclipse plugin). But when emerging my 
java-config[1], at "Compilation and optimization of Python modules for CPython 
3.1" stage, it gives this error:

--------------------
  * Compilation and optimization of Python modules for CPython 2.6 ...
  * Compilation and optimization of Python modules for CPython 3.1 ...
*** Error compiling 
/usr/lib64/python3.1/site-packages/java_config_2/EnvironmentManager.py ...
   File 
"/usr/lib64/python3.1/site-packages/java_config_2/EnvironmentManager.py", line 59
     except InvalidVMError, ex:
                          ^
SyntaxError: invalid syntax
<<< /usr/lib64/python3.1/site-packages/java_config_2/EnvironmentManager.py[co [ 
!! ]
  * Updating desktop mime database ...
----------------------

Since my improved version of java-config is intended to work in Python 3.1 as 
well, one solution I thought is directly patch the src code to let it in Python 
3.1 Syntax after "* Compilation and optimization of Python modules for CPython 
2.6 ..." finishes and before
"* Compilation and optimization of Python modules for CPython 3.1 ..." starts. 
The problem is that I've read java-config's ebuild but had difficulties in 
locating at what function call this step happens. Also I'm not sure patch in 
that time is acceptable or not.( I've read the ebuild guild and it says all 
patches should normally be done in src_prepare().)

***So I'd like ask for suggestions about dealing with this issue. Or other 
possible ways.*** Thanks.

--------------------Plans for next week ---------------------------------------

As my plans in proposal my javadoc and javasrc functionalities adding is done 
in 3rd week of Gsoc time, so I'm one week ahead of plan. Ahead of plan is good 
I think, and in my next week I'll:
1.Besides asking for suggestions, I'll continue research by myself on the above 
issue.
2.Begin GenEclipse plugin work



[1] my branch of java-config:
http://overlays.gentoo.org/svn/proj/java/projects/java-config-2/branches/kylepan/java-config-2.1.9999k.ebuild


-- 
Best regards,
Jiale Pan(Kyle Pan)