JAVA Plug-in Installation and Configuration
 
The SWAS spectrum server requires no installation or configuration. It includes a Java plot package that is run as an applet, and so long as an up-to-date version of a browser (e.g. Netscape or Explorer) and a JAVA plug-in is installed, it should operate normally. Version 1.0 of the SWAS spectrum service requires installation of the Java 1.3.1 plug-in. As new versions of Java are released, they will be tested for compatibility with the spectrum server and this page will be updated accordingly.
 
The JAVA plug-in is not that code that comes bundled with the browser. It is a separate module, like those used to allow browsers to display images, spreadsheets, VRML etc. While this is clearly the way things are moving in the future, it does involve the extra step for the user of downloading and running an installation file. For UNIX users an environment variable must also be set.
 Step-by-Step 
 Examples 
The following does not attempt to be comprehensive and may be a little out of date but should be correct for the majority of users.
 
Solaris:
  • Go to http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/jre/download-solaris.html
  • Under Download the JRE v 1.3.1, select a Solaris platform from the pulldown menu(e.g. "Solaris SPARC") and press "continue".
  • A license agreement will appear. Go the bottom and press "ACCEPT".
  • Choose any of the download archive locations. Once downloading starts (it may be slow), you will be prompted for the location on you machine to save the file (a sh script).
  • When the download is complete, go to where you saved the script and run it (remember to chmod it to be executable). You will be prompted as to whether you accept the license agreement (again) then the script will create a JAVA installation directory in the same directory as the script (so choose the location appropriately).
  • Create the NPX_PLUGIN_PATH environment variable (e.g. in your .cshrc file) and point it at the JAVA installation. For example, if you installed the plug-in in /home/testuser/j2re1_3_1, then NPX_PLUGIN_PATH should be set to /home/testuser/j2re1_3_1/plugin/sparc/ns4.
  • Close and restart Netscape and go back to the SWAS server page. You should now be able to run the applet.
 
 
Windows:
  • Go to http://java.sun. com/j2se/1.3/jre/download-windows.html
  • Under Download the JRE v 1.3.1, select a version (e.g. "US English versio n") and press "continue".
  • A license agreement will appear. Go the bottom and press "ACCEPT".
  • Choose any of the download archive locations. Once downloading starts (it may be slow), you will be prompted for the location on you machine to save the file (an installation executable).
  • When the download is complete, go to where you saved the executable and run it (remember to chmod it to be executable). You will be prompted as to whether you accept the license (again), where you want to install the plug-in (the default is usually fine).
  • Close and restart your browser and go back to the SWAS server page. You should now be able to run the applet.
 
 
LINUX:  
 Additional Technical 
 Notes on Installation 
We defer to Sun's documentation for additional information on installing and configuring the JAVA plug-in. Our own technical notes are mostly comments on the process where we think a little clarification or extra information may be helpful.