Ready to Program IDE w/ JDK 1.6 Setup

[Unnamed.t]

The title says most...

For about 1 hour I have been trying to set up the RTP IDE's (from HoltSoft) Classpath to match it with the new java SE development kit. I have tried many things, from editing preferences to placing the folder into various parts of the Ready to Program program folder.

Yes I know RTP sucks and I should use a better IDE, I already am using Eclipse but I always want to have RTP on hand with the latest JDK in case it is ever needed (and I want to know how to set up the JDK for the heck of it)

Please do not tell me it is impossible, because I have seen RTP hooked to a JDK 1.5+ with my own eyes.

It is appreciated if there is someone can post a small set of instructions to carry out the setup.

Thanks in Advance

[andrew.]

Seriously, just use a text editor like GEdit or Notepad++ and the command line. It's much better than RTP, and you will learn about compiling code.

[Unnamed.t]

I am aware of these IDE's and their simplicity similar to RTP and I also know how to compile java code into bytecodes (.class) using javac from the command line. Either way, I still think it is important for me to do what I stated before.

[DemonWasp]

So use JCreator or Dr Java, both of which are lighter-weight editors that aren't also godawful abortions that offend programming sensibilities.

Seriously, get away from RTP and never look back. There is nothing RTP does better than any other Java IDE, and very little it does better than vim/javac.

[Unnamed.t]

Yes I understand. I never said that I use RTP (I do but at a minimal basis)

I want to understand its file structure. This information will be vital to me in the future, that is why I want to understand it with the help of the Compsci community right now. Is that too hard to ask?

Please answer me as if I knew EVERY java IDE known to mankind (Dr Java, Eclipse, Netbeans, JDeveloper, BlueJ, IntelliJ).

[M-R-D]

I can't believe noone here can figure this out!

I find it funny that a guy asks how to do something and everyone and his brother wants to preach the evils of RTP. We all know that it is as lightweight as it comes and is only appropriate for kids learning Java... right, we get it.

[Dan]

M-R-D @ 29th November 2010, 1:44 pm wrote:

We all know that it is as lightweight as it comes and is only appropriate for kids learning Java... right, we get it.

But that's the issue. It's not appropriate for teaching any one Java. The HSA classes RTP adds and encourages students to use destroys any chance of learning Java syntax or how common tasks are normally accomplished in java (such as simply outputting to the console).

In terms of the IDE it lacks necessary features any Java IDE should have (like selecting the javac and java executables you will be using) and it is hardly light weight in terms of resource usage compared to other solutions (considering it actually is the Turing IDE with a few bits flied and a Java install). Honestly i think students would be better off with notepad and the command line. At Lakehead we actually have the first years in engineering using a Unix shell to edit their code via pico and then compiling it by hand.

The only reasons I can think of for why it is still used in schools is simply that the school board has the software and a few out of date books on RTP still lying around. It used to be that they went with Turing and RTP simply because it had support from Holtsoft (and the logical fallacy that you have to pay for all software if it is worth while), however since the death of Holtsoft it seems to just be due to teachers not wanting to find something new or being unable to get their IT department to install anything not approved by the board.



Now with the rant over how to make RTP 1.7.1 use JRE 1.6:

[0] Make sure RTP is closed and not running.
[1] Download and install the latest JRE.
[2] In one window open the Ready to Program\Support\jre142_01 directory (for me this was C:\Program Files (x86)\Ready to Program\Support\jre142_01).
[3] In another window open your JRE install directory (for me this was C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6).
[4] Delete the contents of the jre142_01 directory
[5] Copy the contests of the JRE6 directory to the jre142_01 directory
[6] Start up RTP and test that it is using JRE6 (see below).

Their is a simple check to see what runtime RTP is using, simple run the below code:

Java:

public class Main {         public static void main(String array[]){         System.out.print(System.getProperty("java.runtime.version"));     } }

If the upgrade worked you should get an output like:

Quote:

1.6.0_22-b04

If this did not work you may have to go into the RTP options and check that "Use Java 1.4.2" is checked under the Java tab.

This should get RTP using Java 1.6 but it will likely cause issues with syntax highlighting and the documentation will be wrong.

If their is enough interest i could uploaded a copy of RTP already upgraded to use 1.6.

[TerranceN]

@Dan: RTP checks your code before sending it to javac, so you cant compile anything new like generics.

[Dan]

TerranceN @ 29th November 2010, 3:59 pm wrote:

@Dan: RTP checks your code before sending it to javac, so you cant compile anything new like generics.

Thats true, the method i listed only replaces the run time enviorment. I blive RTP still uses the Jikes complier. Any changes to the syntax since Java 1.4.2 are not going to work, however it will give you access to some of the new libraries and general run time improvments in JRE 1.6. I blive the Jikes complier has been complied directly into RTP (or one of it's dlls), so it is unlikey that this issue can be fixed with out signficat hacking of the RTP excutables and even more complicated due to the fact that devlopment of Jikes died in 2005.

As my mini rant stated, no one should be using RTP to start with.


Edit: See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jikes for more information. Depending on what version of Jikes they used in RTP, some Java 1.5 classes may be avlaible tho deftaly not the new syntax of langue features.