Subject: IBM Jikes compiler and NetBSD wide char support
To: None <tech-user@netbsd.org, tech-pkg@netbsd.org>
From: Hauke Fath <hauke@Espresso.Rhein-Neckar.DE>
List: tech-pkg
Date: 01/12/2000 12:49:39
[I am neither subscribed to tech-pkg nor to tech-user, so please keep me
cc'ed on any related replies]

Hi lists,

like all who tried to build Jikes 1.0.6 on NetBSD, I found that it requires
a rudimentary level of wide char support that NetBSD's libc does not
supply. What is in the pkg system currently only builds on Solaris.

Directed by a pointer on port-mac68k a while ago, I came across a wchar
library in the contrib subdir of the X11R5 distribution. That library is
not quite finished and needs a few touches to compile, but it provides the
five or so functions that Jikes wants.

I have built Jikes against this library on sparc, mac68k and i386 and have
regular automated builds of a Java project running at work on i386.

Going from here, I can see three options:

(1) Rip out what Jikes needs and provide the code as patch files against
the Jikes sources. Minimal effort, but might break with future Jikes
releases.

(2) Clean up the wchar library and put it up as a package. That way, other
packages dan use it.

(3) Clean up the wchar library and integrate it into the NetBSD base
distribution. Probably best as a long term solution, but must be standards
(ANSI C) conformant.

Comments?

	hauke

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