What to do when ANT SCP task hangs unexpectedly & automating Javadoc

I had this issue with a project earlier within an ANT build script I have for Team Concert. In this project I generate JavaDoc with the ANT task <javadoc> and then I use <scp> to move the generated HTML, CSS, and other artifacts over to the target documentation server.

The scp task is a secure copy task. This is a unix/linux function that can copy files to/from hosts over secure shell (SSH). To use this function, you have to pull down another library, the Java Secure Channel (jsch), and place this in the ANT_HOME/lib directory.
If you are running this on Team Concert build engine, the directory is under JAZZHOME/buildsystem/buildengine/eclipse/plugins/org.apache.ant_1.7.0
.v200803061910.

This particular issue manifests itself  in that the build engine will never finish the build. It simply appears to 'hang'. The problem is with the combination of ANT 1.7 and Jsch 1.3 and above. RTC 2.0.x uses ANT 1.7. I had downloaded the latest release of Jsch. After hours of troubleshooting, I was searching and discovered this little gem on the internet. It appears that Jsch requires a buffer flush, which ANT 1.7 and below never sends.

Pulling down and replacing with  Jsch-0.1.29.jar solved the problem. Now, as part of our automated build, we put Javadoc on a central server with every build and are putting as much of our real  system documentation in the source code as we can. This makes for truly up to the second, accurate documentation. On some days that documentation may change and be updated a couple of dozen times, but it always matches what is on our integration servers.

Rational Developer for i for SOA Construction 8 now available

This last week IBM announced that RDiSOA 8 is now available. Current customers have already been able to download the individual parts for some time. Now, they should see the full package available from Passport Advantage.

RDiSOA Combines RPG and COBOL Development Tools for i with Rational Business Developer. It also combines the value propositions of higher developer productivity with the strategic value of leveraging existing IBM i business logic assets in modern solutions using EGL, SOA, and Java.

This is also a common package for HATS and Web development (entry price point for IBM I modernization solution).

• Accelerate delivery of Web 2.0 and SOA solutions that leverage existing IBM i assets
• Deliver innovative, modern solutions with minimal developer retraining
• More effectively manage the impact of technology changes
• Lower recruitment barriers and training costs and improve skills by providing a common development environment across platforms and technologies
• Reduce skill silos and achieve new levels of flexibility and responsiveness
• Simplify and accelerate code development and maintenance

Note:  This offering also includes the HATS toolkit. HATS toolkit stand-alone is a free download
Inclusion in RDi for SOA is a ‘convenience’ only. This does not include licensing to the HATS runtime, and,  HATS toolkit 8 will not be available in Eclipse 3.6-compatible version until later this year. When it is available, you will want to upgrade to HATS 8. Trust me on that one!

Talk about cool! Dunk your server rack in a pot... and save 95% in cooling costs.

These videos blow me away. As expensive as it is to maintain air cooled server racks in large data centers, everyone is looking for a solution. Well just as air cooled Volkswagon beetles gave way to water cooled, so now (similarly) is the data center.

These guys use a non-electrically conducting mineral oil to cool the servers.




1200x better thermal dissipation than air. Hard to believe, but this is pretty cool (pun intended). Imagine us consultants actually getting to work in data center that is normal room temperature without having to dress like an eskimo!




From their website:
http://www.grcooling.com/?page_id=655

Resolving installation error with RDP into existing package groups.

This little gem of an error came up today. While installing Rational Developer for Power, I got a message that the the product was not compatible with the package group I was installing into. In this case I tried installing into multiple existing package groups including one with Rational Business Developer, and another with Rational Application Developer.


In installation context "com.ibm.sdp.eclipse.ide":
Software being installed: com.ibm.assembly.rdpower.main 2.0.1.20101130_1111 (SE.1.com.ibm.assembly.rdpower.main 2.0.1.20101130_1111)
Missing requirement: SE.1.com.ibm.iseries.javaweb 8.0.1.v20101122_2106 requires 'SE.1.com.ibm.etools.webtools.core.feature [7.0.0,8.0.0)' but it could not be found
Cannot satisfy dependency:
From: com.ibm.assembly.rdpower.main 2.0.1.20101130_1111 (SE.1.com.ibm.assembly.rdpower.main 2.0.1.20101130_1111)
To: SE.1.com.ibm.iseries.javaweb [8.0.1,9.0.0)



This is an issue, and at the moment there is not an IBM support ticket open that I know of. The culprit is the "IBM i Web Services and Java Tools" selection. Deselect this option, and try again. That should resolve the issue.