1 # Building Jalview from Source
7 git clone http://source.jalview.org/git/jalview.git
12 java -jar build/libs/jalview-all-11.jar
14 # and/or create launcher
18 java -jar getdown-launcher.jar . jalview
24 The method here is described in terms of using a command line. You can easily do this on linux or in a Terminal window in macOS. You can do it in Windows.
26 * Java 11 compliant JDK
30 > The versions and installation methods here are just suggestions (which we have tested
31 so are known to work). If you need or wish to use different implementations (particularly
32 you might need a bespoke JDK if you are on an exotic architecture) then the general
33 build instructions should work with any gradle 5+. You should be able to compile the
34 bytecode with any JDK Java 11+. The resulting bytecode (in particular the shadow jar)
35 should be runnable in any JRE Java 1.8+. Remember that because Jalview and the getdown launcher
36 are Java bytecode you can build on one system where you might have gradle, and run
37 on another where you don't (JRE 1.8+ required).
39 ### Java 11 compliant JDK
42 We recommend obtaining an OpenJDK JDK 11 (since 11 is the long term support release) from AdoptOpenJDK: <https://adoptopenjdk.net/?variant=openjdk11&jvmVariant=hotspot>, either the *Installer* or `.zip`/`.tar.gz` variants whichever you prefer (if you're not sure, choose the *Installer*).
44 >##### Alternative/CLI install of AdoptOpenJDK 11
46 >You can also install adoptopenjdk11 using either `brew` (macOS), `choco` (Windows)
47 (see the section on `gradle` and `git` for more informaiton on `brew` and `choco`)
48 or `yum` or `apt` (Linux):
50 >###### alternative for MacOS and Homebrew
52 >brew tap adoptopenjdk/openjdk
53 >brew cask install adoptopenjdk11
56 >###### alternative for Windows and Chocolatey
58 >choco install adoptopenjdk11
61 >###### alternative for Linux with yum/apt
63 >see <https://adoptopenjdk.net/installation.html#linux-pkg>
67 You should be able to install the latest (or sufficiently recent) versions of gradle and git using your OS package manager.
70 we recommend using `brew`, which can be installed following the instructions at <https://brew.sh/>.
71 After installing `brew`, open a Terminal window and type in (using an Administrator privileged user):
74 brew install gradle git
77 or if you aready have them installed but need to upgrade the version:
80 brew upgrade gradle git
85 we suggest using the **Chocolatey** package manager. See install instructions at <https://chocolatey.org/>, and you will just need
92 Alternatively, you could install a real `bash` shell and install both `gradle` and `git` through `apt-get`.
93 See <https://devblogs.microsoft.com/commandline/bash-on-ubuntu-on-windows-download-now-3/>
94 for how to install the ubuntu bash shell in Windows 10.
96 Another alternative would be to install them separately. For `gradle` follow the instructions at <https://gradle.org/install/>, and for `git` here are a couple of suggestions: Git for Windows <https://gitforwindows.org/>.
97 Getting the individual installs working together on the command line will be trickier
98 so we recommend using Chocolatey or bash.
102 this will depend on which distribution you're using.
104 ##### For *Debian* based distributions (e.g. Mint, Ubuntu, Debian)
108 sudo apt-get install gradle git
111 ##### for RPM-based distributions (e.g. Fedora, CentOS, RedHat)
115 sudo yum install gradle git
118 If you have some other version of linux you'll probably be able to work it out!
123 ## Downloading the Jalview source tree
125 This can be done with `git`.
126 On the command line, change directory to where you want to download Jalview's build-tree
127 top level directory. Then run
130 git clone http://source.jalview.org/git/jalview.git
133 You'll get some progress output and after a minute or two you should have the full
134 Jalview build-tree in the folder `jalview`.
136 ### What's in the source tree?
138 Jalview is a mature product with its codebase going back many years. As such it doesn't
139 have a folder structure that most new gradle projects would have, so you might not
140 find everything in the place you might expect. Here's a brief description of what
141 you might find in the main folders under the `jalview` tree.
143 Within the `jalview` folder you will find (of possible interest):
145 dir/ or file | contains
146 ---------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
147 `bin/` | used by eclipse for compiled classes -- no need to touch this
148 `build/` | the gradle build dir
149 `classes/` | contains the compiled Java classes for the Jalview application
150 `dist/` | assembled `.jar` files needed to run Jalview application
151 `examples/` | example input files usable by Jalview
152 `getdown/` | the libraries used by the Javliew launcher (getdown)
153 `getdown/src/` | our modified source for `getdown`
154 `getdown/website/` | the assembled "download" folder used by getdown for downloads/upgrades
155 `getdown/files/` | the minimal fileset to launch the Jalview launcher, which can then download the rest of the Jalview application
156 `help/` | the help documents
157 `j8lib/` | libraries needed to run Jalview under Java 1.8
158 `j11lib/` | libraries needed to run Jalivew under Java 11
159 `resource/` | non-java resources used in the Jalview application
160 `src/` | the Jalview application source `.java` files
161 `test/` | Test class source files
162 `utils/` | helper applications used in the build process
163 `utils/install4j/` | files used by the packaging tool, install4j
164 `build.gradle` | the build file used by gradle
165 `gradle.properties` | configurable properties for the build process
167 Note that you need a Java 11 JDK to compile Jalview whether your target build is Java 1.8 or Java 11.
172 You will need to have the Java 11 `javac` in your path, or alternatively you can configure
173 gradle to know where this is by putting
176 org.gradle.java.home=/path_to_jdk_directory
178 in the `gradle.properties` file.
180 > *You may want to see some of the other properties you can change at the end of this document.*
182 ### Minimal Jalview Build
184 To compile the necessary class files, just run
189 to compile the classes into the `classes` folder.
190 You should now be able to run the Jalview application directly with
193 java -cp "classes:resources:help:j11lib/*" jalview.bin.Jalview
196 You can also run with an automatic large memory setting (which will set the maximum
197 memory heap of the Jalview JVM to 90% of your local physical memory) and docked icon setting
198 (if possible in your OS) with
201 java -cp "classes:resources:help:j11lib/*" jalview.bin.Launcher
204 >*You must use just "`j11lib/*`" and not "`j11lib/*.jar`" as this is a special Java
205 classpath argument wildcard interpreted by `java`, **not** a shell expansion wildcard interpreted
208 Note that `jalview.bin.Launcher` is a simplified launcher class that re-launches `jalview.bin.Jalview`
209 with the same JRE (*not* the same JVM instance), classpath and arguments, but with an automatically determined `-Xmx...`
210 memory setting if one hasn't been provided.
212 ### Jalview in a Jar File
214 To package the `classes`, `resources`, and `help` into one jar, you can run
219 which assembles the Jalview classes and resources into `dist/jalview.jar`
224 java -cp "dist/jalview.jar:j11lib/*" jalview.bin.Jalview
227 ### Distributed Jar Files
229 To simplify this, all required `.jar` files can be assembled into the `dist` folder
235 which puts all required jar files into `dist` so you can run with
238 java -cp "dist/*" jalview.bin.Jalview
241 ### Single *shadow* Jar File
243 The shadow jar file is a single `.jar` that contains all required classes and resources from `jalview.jar`
244 and all of the supporting libraries in `j11lib/*.jar` merged into one `.jar` archive
245 file. A default launching class (`MAIN-CLASS: jalview.bin.Launcher`) is specified in the `.jar`
246 manifest file (`META/MANIFEST.MF`) so a start class doesn't need to be specified.
248 Build the shadow jar file in `build/lib/jalview-all-11.jar` with
256 java -jar build/lib/jalview-all-11.jar
259 Because no arguments are required, most OSes will associate a `.jar` file with the
260 `java` application (if this has been installed through the OS and not just a local
261 unzip) as a `-jar` argument so you may find you can launch `jalview-all-11.jar`
262 just by double-clicking on it)!
264 > The `shadowJar` task is not a requirement for any other task, so to build the shadow
265 jar file you must specify the `shadowJar` task.
267 > The shadow jar file represents probably the simplest way to distribute the Jalview application to machines that already have a Java 11 installed,
268 although without the many and compelling benefits of the `getdown` launcher.
271 ### Building the `getdown` launcher
273 We have made significant customisations to the `getdown` launcher which you can find
274 in `getdown/src/getdown`.
276 > You don't need to build this afresh as the required `gradle-core.jar`
277 and `gradle-launcher.jar` files are already distributed in `j11lib` and `getdown/lib` but if you want to, then
278 you'll need a working Maven and also a Java 8 JDK. Ensure the Java 8 `javac` is forefront
282 >cd getdown/src/getdown
283 >mvn clean package -Dgetdown.host.whitelist="jalview.org,*.jalview.org"
285 > and you will find the required `.jar` files in `core/target/gradle-core-XXX.jar`
286 and `launcher/target/gradle-launcher-XXX.jar`. The `gradle-core.jar` should then be copied
287 to all three of the `j8lib`, `j11lib` and `getdown/lib` folders, whilst the `gradle-launcher.jar` only
288 needs to be copied to `getdown/lib`.
290 >The `mvn` command should ideally include the `-Dgetdown.host.whitelist=*.jalview.org` setting.
291 This, and the necessary file copying commands, can be found in `getdown/src/getdown/mvn_cmd`.
293 To assemble Jalview with `getdown` use the following gradle task:
299 This puts all the necessary files to launch Jalview with `getdown`
300 into `getdown/website/11/`. This could be treated as the reference folder
301 for `getdown`, which is where a getdown launcher will check to see if the Jalview application
302 files it has are up to date, and download if they aren't or it simply doesn't have
305 A minimal getdown-launcher can be found in `getdown/files/11/` which checks its up-to-date
306 status with (the absolute path to) `getdown/website/11/`.
308 This can be launched with
311 java -jar getdown/files/11/getdown-launcher.jar getdown/files/11/ jalview
314 > We've already met the `-jar file.jar` arguments. The next argument is the working folder for
315 getdown, and the final argument, "`jalview`", is a getdown application id (only "`jalview`"
321 There are substantial tests written for Jalview that use TestNG, which you can run with
327 These normally take around 5 - 10 minutes to complete and outputs its full results into
328 the `tests/` folder. A summary of results should appear in your console.
331 ### Installer packaging with *install4j*
333 Jalview is currently using *install4j* <https://www.ej-technologies.com/products/install4j/overview.html>
334 as its installer packaging tool.
336 If you have a licensed installation of *install4j* you can build Jalview installers
343 though you may need to fiddle with the `install4j` and `copyInstall4jTemplate` tasks
344 in `build.gradle` file to point to your installation of *install4j* and also to bundled
345 JREs if you want to bundle those into the installers.
347 If you want more details, get in touch on our development mailing list <jalview-dev@jalview.org>.
348 Sign up at <http://www.compbio.dundee.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/jalview-dev>.
351 ## Building in Eclipse
353 We develop in Eclipse, and support settings to develop and save Jalview source code
354 in our preferred style. We also support running the Jalview application, debugging
355 and running tests with TestNG from within Eclipse.
357 To get Jalview set up as a project in Eclipse, we recommend using at least the 2019-03
358 version of Eclipse IDE for Java Developers which you can download from the Eclipse
359 website: <https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/>
361 Once installed, we also recommend installing several plugins from the Eclipse Marketplace.
363 To do so, launch Eclipse, and go to Help->Eclipse Marketplace...
365 Search for and install:
367 1. Buildship Gradle Integration 3.0 (or greater)
368 1. Groovy Development Tools 3.4.0 (or greater)
369 1. TestNG for Eclipse (optional -- only needed if you want to run tests from Eclipse)
371 > At time of writing, TestNG for Eclipse does not show up in the Eclipse Marketplace
372 as the latest released version does not install in Eclipse 2019-03.
373 However, you can install a working beta of TestNG for Eclipse by going to
375 Help->Install New Software...
379 `TestNG Eclipse Composite P2 Repo - http://beust.com/eclipse-beta`
381 into the *Work with* box and click on the *Add...* button.
383 Eclipse might pause for a bit with the word *Pending* in the table below at this point, but it will eventually list TestNG with
384 a selection box under the *Name* column.
386 Select *TestNG* and carry on through the
387 install process to install the TestNG plugin.
389 After installing the plugins, it is a good to get Java 11 set up in Eclipse as the default JRE.
391 To do this go to Preferences (Eclipse->Preferences in macOS, File->Preferences
392 on Windows or Window->Preferences on Linux) and find
394 Java -> Installed JREs
396 If your Java 11 installation is not listed, click on
398 *Add* -> Standard VM -> *Next*
400 and enter the JRE home. You can browse to where it was installed. Give it a name (like "AdoptOpenJDK 11"). Select this JDK
401 as the default JRE and click on *Apply and Close*.
404 You can now import Jalview. It is important to import
405 Jalview as a Gradle project (not as a Java project), so go to
411 Gradle->Existing Gradle Project
413 and then click on the *Next >* button.
415 In the following options, it is the *Project Root Directory* you should set to be the
416 `jalview` folder that git downloaded. Then you can click on the *Finish* button.
421 There are a lot of properties configured in `gradle.properties` which we strongly recommend
422 being left as they are unless you have a specific problem with the build process.
424 There are a few gradle properties you might want to set on the command line with the
425 `-P` flag when building a version of Jalview with specific requirements:
428 This changes the *target* java bytecode version
429 > NOTE that you will need to use a Java 11 (or greater) JDK Java compiler to build
430 Jalview for any byte-code target version.
432 Valid values are `11` and `1.8`.
437 gradle shadowJar -PJAVA_VERSION=1.8
440 When using `-PJAVA_VERSION=1.8` the libraries from `j8lib` (instead of `j11lib`) will be used in the compile
441 and runtime classpath and also used in the `makeDist` build step. Where a Java version of `11` is used in folder and file names, it will
442 instead use `1.8`. Also if you are building installer packages with *install4j* the
443 package builder will look for JRE 1.8 bundles to package in the installers.
445 > Note that continued development of Jalview will assume a Java 11+ runtime environment,
446 the 2.11.0 release will run under a Java 1.8 JRE with a few minor features disabled.
449 This changes the `appbase` setting in `getdown.txt` (`appbase` is where the getdown launcher
450 looks to see if there's an updated file) to point to a particular Jalview
451 channel. Expected values are `FILE`, `STABLE`, `DEVELOPMENT`, or a specific version
452 of Jalview like `2.11` or `2.10.5`.
454 A value of `FILE` behaves differently to the other expected values and will use a local
455 file-system scheme URI instead of a Jalview release channel. This `file:` scheme URI
456 uses an absolute path to the `getdown/website/<JAVA_VERSION>`
458 On a regular development machine, this property will default to `LOCAL`.
462 gradle getdown -PCHANNEL=DEVELOPMENT
466 If you are building *install4j* installers (requires *install4j* to be installed) then this property specifies a comma-separated
467 list of media types (i.e. platform specific installers) *install4j* should actually build.
469 Currently the valid values are
477 The default value is all of them.
481 gradle installers -PJAVA_VERSION=1.8 -PMEDA_TYPE=macosArchive
484 To get an up-to-date list of possible values, you can run
487 perl -n -e 'm/^\s*<(\w+)[^>]*\bmediaFileName=/ && print "$1\n";' utils/install4j/install4j_template.install4j | sort -u
489 in the `jalview` root folder.
493 [Jalview Development Team](mailto:help@jalview.org)