Finally found a use for my Sun
No, I’m not talking about the newspaper mentioned below … I’m talking about the computer I blogged about finally getting running the other day. (There isn’t much use for the newspaper.)
I’ve spent the time I’ve been in front of it the last few days trying to get assorted freeware running on it. I’ve managed to get various bits of software which is essential for writing programs on here and working – notably GCC (multi-language compiler software) and various bits and bobs that go round it. One bit I can’t get working is Automake, which is necessary for configuring software which is supplied as source code (rather than as runnable programs). The SunFreeware site said that the old version which runs on Solaris 8 should work, which it didn’t.
Qt, on the other hand, which I consider the best software available for designing programs with graphical user interfaces (windows, buttons and menus, etc), I haven’t been able to get going. It failed on the “configure” stage, and I put this down to not having Automake, but then I couldn’t get the new version of that software to install over the old one. I’m going to have another crack at that tonight or tomorrow (insha Allah) when I’m less tired and more patient.
I have found one important use for the machine though – running Eclipse, which is a general software development system for Java which was developed by IBM among others. It includes something called the Standard Widget Toolkit, which lets you run Java programs on any system and make them look like they belong to that system. (Java programs normally have their own look and feel, which looks out of place and which some think is ugly.) The problem is that it seems slow, which may be because my system is short on memory, with only 128Mb which is the smallest of any system in this house except for our really old 486 which Dad uses for his stamp collecting. This particular model uses standard PC components unlike most other Sun boxes, so it looks like doubling or even tripling the memory isn’t going to be a big deal.
