JDE Troubleshooting Guide

Problem: On Emacs startup, Emacs signals some error.

This is by far the most common JDE problem reported. It almost alway occurs for one or more of the following reasons:

• Failure to install the latest versions of the packages required by the JDE.

Failure to install a package required by the JDE results in the JDE (or one of the packages on which it depends) refering to one or more undefined Lisp symbols during startup. When this happens, Emacs halts the process of loading the JDE (and signals an error if you started Emacs with the -debug-init switch). A result of JDE not being loaded is that the JDE menu does not appear when you open a Java file.
 

• Failure to byte-compile the packages required by the JDE.

Some packages, in particular, cc-mode, run correctly only when compiled. Although many packages run fine without compiling, it is usually safest to compile.
 

• Failure to put the directories containing the latest versions of JDE-required packages ahead of any other Lisp directories in the Emacs load-path.

Load-path problems are particularly insidious because their effect is the same as if a package had never been installed. The user knows that he or she has installed all the packages required by the JDE and yet it doesn't work.. Often, the reason is that an older version of a package, particularly custom, still exists in the user's Lisp directory tree and is being loaded ahead of the new version.
 

Solution: Make sure that you have installed and compiled all the packages required by the JDE and that you have put the packages at the head of your load-path.

Error in init file: error: "Lisp nesting exceeds max-lisp-eval-depth"

Solution: Download the latest version of cc-mode (5.20 or greater) and compile all the .el files in the cc-mode distribution. When compiling the cc-mode files, please be sure to follow exactly the compilation instructions given in the readme file that accompanies the cc-mode distribution.

Problem: I installed the latest version of cc-mode and now I cannot indent a line by pressing the TAB key. In fact, when I edit a .c or .java file and hit tab, I get  :

"Invalid function: (macro . #[(cond &rest body) "\300    \302^KBE\207"
[if cond progn body] 4 ("c:/mcarland/lisp/cc-mode-5.20/cc-mode-19.elc" .
1007)])"

Martin Stjernholm <mast@lysator.liu.se> reports that CC Mode 5.20 doesn't byte compile correctly under Emacs 19.34, because the compatibility macros in cc-mode-19.el aren't require'd prior tocompilation. The patch below fixes this. There will be a bugfix release out soon too.

--- cc-make.el  1997/10/03 15:13:31     5.12
+++ cc-make.el  1998/02/10 22:48:57     5.13
@@ -20,7 +20,15 @@
           (error nil))
         ;; Stock Emacs 19.34 doesn't have this
         (fboundp 'defcustom))
-    (batch-byte-compile)
+    (progn
+      (if (or (not (fboundp 'functionp))
+             (not (fboundp 'char-before))
+             (not (c-safe (char-after) t))
+             (not (fboundp 'when))
+             (not (fboundp 'unless)))
+         ;; cc-mode-19.el contains macros that should be compiled in.
+         (require 'cc-mode-19))
+      (batch-byte-compile))
   (error "STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP!
 
The Custom library was not found or is out of date.  A more current

Solution: Martin suggests the easiest way to fix  this problem is to use the following command to byte-compile the cc-mode files:

emacs -batch -no-site-file -q -l cc-mode-19.el -l cc-make.el cc-*.el
                              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ add this
 
 

Error in initfile: Symbol's value as variable is void:
font-lock-defaults-alist

Solution: Put the following statements

(require 'font-lock)
(require 'jde)

in your .emacs file. The next release of the JDE will require font-lock to avoid this problem.

Unknown keyword
speedbar-ignored-path-expressions

Solution: Use load-file instead of require to force loading of the 1.9961 version of custom, e.g., put the following in your .emacs file

;;(require 'custom)
(load-file (expand-file-name "~/custom-1.9961/custom.elc"))

Apparently the version of custom distributed with XEmacs 20.2 is broken in some way.

Symbol's value as variable is void ((:set))

This indicates that an older version of custom is shadowing custom 1.9961 in your load-path.

Solution: Set your load-path so that the custom 1.9961 directory precedes the NT/Emacs Lisp distribution directory in your load-path.

Symbol's value as variable is void ((:version))

The latest version of browse-url.el refers to a defcustom keywork :version that does not appear to be defined
in the backward compatiblity verion of custom (custom-1.9961).

Solution: Comment out line 340 in browse-url.el (Thanks toJean-Dominique Sifantus <jsifantu@tiac.net> for this fix.

Solution: Install the following patch (thanks to Les Schaffer <godzilla@netmeg.net>)
on jde.el:

*** jde.el~     Fri Feb 27 18:19:09 1998
--- /usr/local/lib/xemacs/site-lisp/jde/jde.el  Sat Feb 28 15:58:11 1998
***************
*** 822,828 ****
          (if jde-dir
              (expand-file-name "doc/jde.htm" jde-dir))))
      (if jde-help
!       (browse-url jde-help  browse-url-new-window-p)
        (signal 'error '("Cannot find JDE help file.")))))
 
  ;; speedbar
--- 822,828 ----
          (if jde-dir
              (expand-file-name "doc/jde.htm" jde-dir))))
      (if jde-help
!       (browse-url (concat "file:" jde-help)  browse-url-new-window-p)
        (signal 'error '("Cannot find JDE help file.")))))
 
  ;; speedbar

Solution:  Change the definition of shell-execute-url in your .emacs file to read as follows

(defun shell-execute-url (url &optional new-window)
  "Invoke the shell-execute-helper program to call ShellExecute and launch
     or re-direct a web browser on the specified url."
  (interactive "sURL: ")
;  (call-process shell-execute-helper nil nil nil url)
  (start-process "shellex" nil shell-execute-helper url))

cc-mode's default "style" for editing Java code (which JDE inherits) resets c-basic-offset to 4 whenever you open a
Java buffer.

Solution: The following, which you should put in your .emacs file, sets it back to 2.

(defun my-jde-mode-hook ()
  (setq c-basic-offset 2))
(add-hook 'jde-mode-hooks 'my-jde-mode-hook)

This is a bug that will be fixed in the next JDE release.

Solution: In the meantime, you can fix it by change line 479 in jde.el from

  (customize-apropos "jde-debug-options" 'groups))

to

  (customize-apropos "jde-db-options" 'groups))

Problem: I start the debugger but  the Jdb menu does not appear on the Emacs menu bar as pictured in the user's guide.

Solution: Set an initial breakpoint in the jdb command buffer and run to that breakpoint. Then, select the Java source buffer in which the debug cursor appears. You should see the Jdb menu on the menubar. Note: that the Jdb menu appears only after an initial breakpoint has been reached and when a Java source buffer is selected. See the JDE User's Guide for more information.

Problem: I am using the JDE with NT/Emacs 20.2.x. When I run a Java application with a GUI, the application starts but nothing appears.

NT/Emacs 20.2.x is a development version that introduces changes that break the JDE run command among other JDE features. The JDE eventually will be updated to support NT/Emacs 20.2, probably when a stable version appears, possibly sooner.

Solution: Use NT/Emacs 19.34.6 until the JDE is updated to support 20.2.