Col's Tech

Java 1.4.2 as supplied with Solaris 10 is no longer updated via normal patches. In order to update your Java 1.4.2 instance on Solaris 10, you need to update the pkgs that supply Java 1.4.2.

At the time of writing this document, the "Updated Release of the February 2013 Oracle Java SE Critical Patch Update" is the latest Java CPU that updates Java 1.4.2 and it updates it to Java 1.4.2_42. This is mentioned in Doc ID 1526106.1 to which the CPU links. Unfortunately, neither document detail how what is required and how to perform the update.

This post serves to fill that gap and detail how to update the Solaris 10 supplied Java 1.4.2 to the latest version available.

• Download the SDK 1.4.2_42 files appropriate for your architecture from here (You'll need an Oracle login and possibly a support contract). This link is provided in Doc ID 1526106.1 which the "Updated Release of the February 2013 Oracle Java SE Critical Patch Update" links to.

  You will need to download both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the pkgs available.

  The downloaded files contain the Solaris packages and the self-extracting shell script. We're only interested in the Solaris packages.

• Transfer the files to your Solaris host and unzip them.

• Extract the tarballs that contains the Solaris pkgs.

  The filenames you will need to extract will be, depending on your architecture:

                    From the 32-bit zip file              From the 64-bit zip file
      SPARC:     j2sdk-1_4_2_42-solaris-sparc.tar.Z    j2sdk-1_4_2_42-solaris-sparcv9.tar.Z
        X86:     j2sdk-1_4_2_42-solaris-i586.tar.Z     j2sdk-1_4_2_42-solaris-x64.tar.Z  

  Once the tarballs have been extracted, you should have the following pkgs in the current directory:

      SUNWj3cfg      SUNWj3dev      SUNWj3dmo     SUNWj3dmx
      SUNWj3dvx      SUNWj3jmp      SUNWj3man     SUNWj3rt
      SUNWj3rtx

• Uninstall all of the SUNWj3* pkgs from the current system:

  # pkgrm SUNWj3cfg SUNWj3dev SUNWj3dmo SUNWj3dvx SUNWj3irt SUNWj3man SUNWj3rt SUNWj3rtx

  Ignore all warnings about dependencies. We'll be re-installing the updated pkgs in the next step and this will rectify the dependencies.

• Install the pkgs extracted in step 3 above:

  # pkgadd -d . SUNWj3rt SUNWj3rtx SUNWj3cfg SUNWj3dev SUNWj3dvx SUNWj3man SUNWj3jmp SUNWj3dmo SUNWj3dmx

• You can now confirm you have the updated version of Java 1.4.2:

  # /usr/j2se/bin/java -version
  java version "1.4.2_42"
  Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2_42-b03)
  Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 1.4.2_42-b03, mixed mode)
  #
  # /usr/j2se/bin/sparcv9/java -version
  java version "1.4.2_42"
  Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (build 1.4.2_42-b03)
  Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 1.4.2_42-b03, mixed mode)

All your OS supplied tools and utilities that use the OS supplied Java 1.4.2 should continue to work as before.

One word of warning: do not perform this procedure whilst your system is running any Java processes that are using the Java 1.4.2 instance you are updating.

I've been a little quiet on the Habari front of late as I've been very tied up with $work and my own dev stuff (check out my new personal site design) so have just been lurking on IRC with very little in the way of contributing. I hope to change that as there are some pretty exciting things coming with some major enhancements and loads of bug fixes making their into the code that will be Habari 1.0 (and if I don't pull finger, I'm going to be left behind).

To start with, Habari 0.9.1 has just been released. Loads of bug fixes and enhancement here, especially for those who plan to install Habari on Windows hosts.

Next we finally have an "Addons Catalog" to make showing off, reviewing and installing plugins and themes a cinch, and I think the implementation is pretty impressive too...

The Catalog is currently powered by Github, and pulls from Habari Extras. What is exciting is that the catalog has been crafted to allow you to host your addons in your own repo. We don't lock you into using a repo we control. Simply add a call to our import beacon to your webhooks list, and you are good to go. In the coming months we will be releasing support for other repository providers like bitbucket and beanstalk. Did we mention that you can find the code that powers our catalog in Habari Extras? Feel free to fork away and do something amazing with it.

A little more work is needed on some of the plugins in Habari Extras, but with time everything should be integrated and easily installed.

Last but not least, the Habari site has a gorgeous new design... not just a new layer of paint, but a whole new design, and it's amazing....

The screenshot just doesn't do it justice. You must head on over and check it out in all its glory and whilst you're there, be sure to check out What's New.

A huge big thanks needs to go out to the guys, you know who you are, who've spent endless hours fixing bugs, enhancing Habari, creating the Addons Catalogue and the awesome new site design. Brilliant work!

If you're starting to get annoyed with Wordpress and are looking for something leaner, meaner and far superior, give Habari a go. You won't be disappointed. Oh and don't be shy to drop us a line, join us on IRC or start contributing... as Tescos say: "Every little helps."