Emacs JDE Mirror

This is a partial mirror of the JDE home website.

The JDE is an Emacs Lisp package that provides a highly configurable Emacs wrapper for command-line Java development tools, such as those provided in JavaSoft's JDK. The JDE provides menu access to a Java compiler, debugger, and API doc. The Emacs/JDE combination adds features typically missing from command-line tools, including:

• syntax coloring
• automatic code generation
• abbreviations
• auto indentation
• compile error to source links
• Java- or make-based builds
• source-level debugging
• source code browsing

The JDE supports both Emacs (Unix and Windows versions) and XEmacs. It is freely available under the GNU public license.

JDE Requirements

The JDE requires the following software:

• The latest version of FSF Emacs or XEmacs on Unix platforms; NT/Emacs on Windows platforms.

  The JDE works with previous minor versions of Emacs and XEmacs 20. However, technical support is provided only for the latest versions.

  Note The native Windows version of XEmacs does not correctly launch Java processes. For this reason, you should avoid using this version of XEmacs until the problem is resolved. Alternatives to the native version of XEmacs on Windows include the Windows version of Emacs (recommended) and the Cygnus version of XEmacs.

• Version 0.11 (or later) of Eric Ludlam's speedbar and version 1.2 (or later) of Eric's semantic bovinator. You can download both packages from Eric's Emacs package site.

• The Emacs Lisp library (elib) package. You can download the package in compressed tar or zip format from the JDE web site.

• Java Development Kit (JDK) or compatible set of Java development tools (compiler, virtual machine, debugger, class libraries, etc.)

• Web browser (e.g., Netscape or Internet Explorer) for viewing documentation.

  See Specifying a Browser for information on configuring Emacs to use a browser.

• bash or other Unix-style shell highly recommended for Windows95/NT environments.

Downloading the JDE

You can download the latest version of the JDE in zip (for Windows) or zip tar format (for Unix).

See the JDE release notes for a description of the changes included in the latest release. See beta release notes for information on the beta release.

See Installing the JDE for information on installing the JDE on a Unix or Windows system.

JDE Mailing List

The JDE mailing list provides a technical support, design, and news forum for JDE. If you are having problems setting up or using the JDE, would like to propose and discuss enhancements, or simply be advised of the latest JDE developments, this is the place to turn. To subscribe, send an empty message to the JDE subscribe server. To remove yourself from the list, send an empty message to the JDE unsubscribe server.

Technical Support

If you have a problem with the JDE, first check the JDE Troubleshooting Guide. Next make sure that you have installed the latest version of the JDE and the latest versions of the packages required by JDE on your system. Also, make sure that that system path and the Emacs load-path variables list the paths to the required packages. Most problems reported by users are installation/setup problems.

Installing Emacs packages can be tricky, especially for Emacs novices. If you are inexperienced, try finding a local Emacs guru to help you. You may also be able to get help installing supporting packages by sending messages to the JDE mailing list or posting messages to the Emacs help newsgroup (gnu.emacs.help).

If after you have installed the required packages, you still have a problem running the JDE, please send your problem report, preferably, to the JDE mailing list or, if you are not on the list, to Paul Kinnucan.

When reporting problems, please be sure to include the following information:

• host platform (e.g., Windows/NT, Solaris, Linux, etc.)
• JDE version (e.g., JDE 2.1.3)
• Emacs version (e.g., XEmacs 20.3)
• contents of your .emacs file (or at least the portion relevant to the JDE)
• backtrace (i.e., the contents of the backtrace buffer that appears when a Lisp error occurs)

If the problem occurs during startup, rerun Emacs, using the -debug-init command line switch. This causes Emacs to stop when an error occurs in your .emacs file and display the resulting backtrace in the backtrace buffer. Include the backtrace in your problem report.

About the Author

Paul Kinnucan graduated from MIT in 1970. In the sixties and seventies, he developed numerical and astronomical image processing software for mainframes at the University of Chicago and MIT. In the 1980s, he wrote about computers, factories, aircraft, and spacecraft for various U.S. trade and general-circulation publications. Recently, he has divided his time between software development and technical documentation. He is currently a senior technical writer at The MathWorks, Inc, a producer of engineering math and simulation software. He is responsible for documenting the company's simulation software. For some time, he has been developing a circuit simulation program in Java in his spare time. He has a wife (Fran), son (Michael, age 13), and daughter (Emma, 12). He lives with his family in Milton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston.