02. Exploring the Pentaho Repository

• A Java SDK. The Pentaho BI Platform requires the full SDK, not just the runtime (JRE).
• Ant, the Java-based build tool.
• The Eclipse platform IDE. 
•  Subclipse an Eclipse plugin that adds Subversion integration to the Eclipse IDE.
• The JBoss IDE for Eclipse.

To get setup:

1. Download and install your Java SDK.
2. Download and install Ant.
3. Download and install Eclipse.
4. Download and install Subclipse.
5. Download and install the JBoss IDE for Eclipse.

The following sections are notes about which versions of each of these tools that the Pentaho team uses, and tips on getting the environment situated for developing in the Pentaho platform code line. Each tool has detailed setup instructions included with their respective download, so we won't re-write every step here.

Java SDK

The Pentaho BI Platform is built and tested against Java SDK 1.5 (Versions of the Platform prior to 1.5.4 require the Java SDK 1.4). NOTE that you need the full SDK, not just the runtime (JRE). You will see in later steps that you must specify the Java compiler executable (javac) for the Ant build scripts to function properly. This executable lives in the /bin directory of the Java SDK that you install, so make a note to remember where you have the SDK installed.  This document assumes that you are using the latest source code and require JDK 1.5.  If you are debugging with source code prior to 1.5.4 (1.2 for example) then wherever you see JDK 1.5 referenced, substitute JDK 1.4.

Ant

Ant is a Java-based build tool that we use to build the platform, as well as support development activities for Pentaho within Eclipse. The version currently used to build the downloadable binaries for Pentaho is Ant 1.6.5. We recommend that you have the Ant tool available to build some of the Pentaho Ant targets from the command line (necessary in some certain circumstances).

A version of Ant gets distributed with the Eclipse IDE. This version is used by the IDE for build features, and may be modified for Eclipse plugin purposes. To determine the version that is distributed with the Eclipse IDE, navigate from the Window menu at the top of Eclipse to Preferences... | Ant | Runtime, and checkout the version in the plugin's path.

Eclipse IDE

Recently, the version of Eclipse been an issue when setting up your Pentaho development environment, and it has nothing to do with the Pentaho code. If you want to run and debug the code in the JBoss application server, you will need the JBoss IDE (see below), and therein lies some compatibility issues (the latest version of the IDE seems to have some troubles with the latest version of Eclipse). The short answer is that the following versions/distributions are being used by the Pentaho team, so we know these configurations work.

1. Download Eclipse pre-bundled with the latest JBoss IDE plugin from the JBoss site - Eclipse IDE version 3.2.1 bundled with JBoss IDE version 2.0.0beta2.  OR
2. Download Eclipse 3.2.1 M20060921-0945 from the Eclipse site; then download and install the JBoss IDE plugin version 2.0.0 beta2 from JBoss.

Subclipse

Subclipse is a plugin to Eclipse that enables Subversion features within the Eclipse environment. Subversion is the source control repository used by most Pentaho projects. Subclipse takes advantage of the Eclipse Update Manager that allows you to register with a URL and retrieve and install plugins automatically within the Eclipse IDE. The version of Subclipse that is compatible with our configuration is Subclipse 1.2.x. You can find detailed install instructions on the Tigris.org site, or follow the abbreviated instructions below:.

1.  In Eclipse, select Help -> Software Updates -> Find and Install...

2.  Select "Search for new features to install". Click the "next" button.

3.  Click the "New Remote Site..." button.

 4.  Enter the site name, then enter the following URL:  http://subclipse.tigris.org/update_1.2.x;. Click the "OK" button.

 5.  When you click the "OK" button, that should open the window shown below. Click "Finish".

6.  You should see a list of features to choose from in the next step. Choose the "Subclipse plugin" entry that is appropriate for your version of Eclipse.

 NOTE: Uncheck the Integrations check-box.

 
 7. Click the "I accept the terms in the license agreement" and click "Next".

 

 
 
8. Click "Finish" to complete the installation process.
 

Allow the plug-in to finish installing. For detailed instructions on using Subclipse, go to the Eclipse Help menu, choose Help Contents, then browse the Subclipse tree in the Table of Contents. 

Using Subclipse with the SSH+SVN protocol

If you are going to connect to SVN Repositories using the secure SSH+SVN protocol, you will need to make a change to the default settings of the subclipse plug-in.

1. Launch Eclipse
2. Go to Window... Preferences... menu.
3. Expand "Team" in the left tree, then select "SVN"
4. Under the "SVN interface:" section, make sure the radio button for "SVNKit (Pure Java)" is selected.

JBoss IDE

If you intend to follow along with the Debugging in the JBoss Application Server exercise, then you will want to install the JBoss IDE plug-in for Eclipse. If you downloaded the bundled Eclipse\JBoss IDE package, then you do not need to install the JBoss IDE plugin - you already have it. The JBoss IDE plug-in for Eclipse is a tool that allows you to step through Java classes that are running as part of a web application in a JBoss application server.

The JBoss IDE plug-in is typically retrieved via the Eclipse Update Manager. However, at the time of this writing the JBoss IDE version 2.0.0beta2 doesn't have install instructions, documentation or a hook into the Update Manager. That's what we get for using a development build   This shouldn't be a problem, it is pretty straight forward, and we'll do our best to describe it here.

Get the JBoss plug-in here:

1. Download the plugin distribution, JBossIDE-2.0.0.Beta2-ALL.zip (not the plugin\Eclipse bundle!).
2. Unzip the bundle into your eclipse installed directory - not that the directory structure in the zip file starts at /eclipse .
3. Start\restart Eclipse.

Configure JBoss IDE for Eclipse

Once you have successfully installed the JBOSS IDE plug-in, the next step is to configure your IDE.

1. Follow steps in the  Pentaho development standard document to install default development standards setting for Pentaho.
2. Change compiler warning settings by following the instructions on this page.
3. Change the subversion settings by following the instructions on this page.

Once you have successfully configured JBoss IDE, continue to the next section. We will cover how to configure the plug-in for debugging in the "Debugging in the JBoss Application Server" exercise.

02. Exploring the Pentaho Repository

Quick Links For This Document

• 01. Setting Up Your Environment
• 02. Exploring the Pentaho Repository
• 03. Creating Repository Connections
• 04. Checking Out Projects
• 05. Exploring the build.xml
• 06. Debugging with JUnit
• 07. Debugging with the Standalone Platform Project
• 08. Debugging with the JBoss IDE
• Debugging with Tomcat in Eclipse IDE