Preparing for Installation

This chapter contains information needed to prepare for the installation of the Forte for Java 4, Enterprise Edition IDE (hereafter referred to as "Forte for Java 4 IDE").

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Overview of the Installation

The following steps outline the general process of installing the Forte for Java 4 IDE on your system. This process includes the validation, customization, and registration of your Forte for Java 4 IDE installation:

1. Verify that you have local or network access to either the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, v. 1.3.1 (hereafter referred to as "J2SE, v. 1.3.1 platform") or the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, v. 1.4.0 (hereafter referred to as "J2SE, v. 1.4.0 platform") from the system in which you plan to install the Forte for Java 4 IDE.

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Note - The recommended option is the J2SE, v. 1.4.0 platform with the Forte for Java 4 IDE. Read Chapter 2 for detailed installation instructions.

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2. Verify that the system on which you are installing the Forte for Java software meets the minimum system requirements. See System Requirements for more information.

3. Determine which software you want the Forte for Java 4 IDE installer to install. The Forte for Java 4, Enterprise Edition installer includes the following software:

• Core Platform and Modules (required)
• PointBase Server 4.2 Restricted Edition
• J2EE Reference Implementation 1.3.1
• Solaris Developer Modules (available in Solaris operating environments only)

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Note - The best option is to install the J2EE Reference Implementation 1.3.1 and the PointBase Server 4.2 Restricted Edition with the IDE. These software products are provided to enable you to quickly develop a simple J2EE application, as described in Chapter 5.

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4. Determine if you want to keep your previous version of the Forte for Java IDE. If you do, identify a different directory in which to install Forte for Java 4, Enterprise Edition.

If you want to use the same installation directory as the previous IDE version, you must first uninstall the previous version of the IDE prior to installing Forte for Java 4, Enterprise Edition.

5. Determine whether you want to keep your current Forte for Java IDE user settings. If you decide to use your current user settings with the new IDE version, you need to specify the location of your current user directory when prompted during the initial IDE setup. Read Chapter 4 for more information.

6. Install Forte for Java 4, Enterprise Edition. Read Chapter 3 for detailed installation instructions for each of the supported platforms.

7. Set up your initial IDE environment and register the product. Read Chapter 4 for instructions on setting up your user directory and registering the product.

8. Validate your installation of the Forte for Java 4 IDE by starting an instance of the J2EE Reference Implementation 1.3.1 server and creating a simple J2EE application. Read Chapter 5 for additional information.

After you have validated that your Forte for Java 4 IDE installation is working properly, perform the following steps, if desired:

1. Customize your Forte for Java 4 IDE installation by setting up the PointBase database server. Refer to the instructions in Chapter 6.

2. Configure the use of other application servers with the Forte for Java 4 IDE. Read Chapter 7 for configuration instructions.

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Supported Platforms

Forte for Java 4, Enterprise Edition has been tested with the following systems:

• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional system (with latest service packs)
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Red Hat Linux 7.2
• Solaris 8 operating environment (64-bit, SPARC platform)
• Solaris 9 operating environment (64-bit, SPARC platform)

This release has been tested on a limited basis on the following systems:

• Microsoft Windows NT SP6 systems
• Solaris 8 operating environment (32-bit, SPARC platform)
• Solaris 9 operating environment (32-bit, SPARC platform)

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System Requirements

TABLE 1-1 lists the system requirements needed to install a minimum configuration on any of the supported platforms.

TABLE 1-1 Forte for Java 4, Enterprise Edition System Requirements

Supported Platforms	Free Hard Disk Space Required for Installation	Minimum Configuration
Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows NT4, SP6[1]	180 MB	Pentium III, 500 MHz, 512 MB RAM
Red Hat Linux 7.2	180 MB	Pentium III 500 Mhz, 512 MB RAM
Solaris 8, Solaris 9 operating environments (64-bit, SPARC platform)	320 MB	Ultra 60, 450 MHz, 512 MB RAM
Solaris 8, Solaris 9 operating environments (32-bit, SPARC platform)[1]	320 MB	Ultra 60, 450 MHz, 512 MB RAM

These are general guidelines. Your requirements might vary depending on which additional software you have installed for use with the Forte for Java 4 IDE.