Frequently Asked Questions

1. (Mac) Is the warning "OSerr -35 processing classpath item" serious?

   This is just a warning and can be safely ignored.

2. (Netscape) Why do I get the error "Smart update failed. JAR archive has no installer file info" when attempting to download Artemis using Netscape Navigator?

   This is due to a bug in Netscape. Netscape users should shift-click on the link to avoid getting this error.

3. Why does Artemis run out of memory on UNIX or GNU/Linux even though the machine has lots of memory?

   The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) on UNIX has a fixed upper limit on the amount of memory that is available for applications, but this limit can be changed at runtime. As shipped Artemis will use a maximum of 150 megs of memory.

   You will need to change the art script to fix this problem. Find the line that reads:

   MEM="-mx150m -ms20m"

   and change the 150 to a bigger number (try 500 or 1000).

4. Why does Artemis run out of memory on Windows even though the machine has lots of memory?

   Normally the Java virtual machine artificially limits the amount of memory that Artemis can use. The fix is as follows:

   Create a shortcut to the Artemis JAR file. Edit the properties of the shortcut and add "java -mx250m -jar " to the start of the Target: field. -mx250m sets the maximum memory Java will allocate to Artemis. We recommend choosing a number that is about 50 megabytes less than the total amount of memory in the machine (to allow for the overhead of windows and the Java virtual machine).

   You will need to use the shortcut to run Artemis from then on.

Hints and Tips

1. Artemis and Hummingbird eXceed

   If you use Artemis (or other java programs) with the Hummingbird eXceed X server for Windows you may have problems with borders disappearing. David Bauer <bauer@genprofile.com> has this suggestion:

   Hummingbird support told me:
   go to exceed>xconfig>screen definition>set the window manager to "Native"
   This will force your x applications to use your operating system's window
   manager.
         

2. Running Artemis on Compaq Tru64

   Users of Compaq's Tru64 UNIX may want to try running the "art" script with the -fast flag which will force Artemis to use the fast version of java that is sometimes available on Tru64. The fast java VM is not normally the default because it can use a lot of memory.

3. Artemis on GNU/Linux (especially Red Hat)

   The most common problem on GNU/Linux distributions is that the default Java VM is Kaffe rather than the Sun JVM. Kaffe still has bugs that prevent Artemis from working properly. We have most success with Java 1.1.8 and Java 1.3.1 from Sun.

4. Artemis on MacOS X

   • The "Stuffit" file (de-)compression program has been reported to have problems decompressing the Artemis distribution file. The symptom is this message (when running Artemis on the command line):

     starting Artemis with flags: -mx150m -ms20m -noverify Exception in thread "main"
       java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: uk/ac/sanger/pathogens/InputStreamProgressListener
             

     If you have problems try the GNU/Linux and UNIX installation instructions.

   • From Jim Vincent:

     I have downloaded the Unix/GNU version of Artemis (release 4) to run 
     on OS X 10.2 (Jaguar).
     It seems that when the tar file untars some file names are truncated, 
     in particular:
     
     -rw-r--r--    1 jjv5  staff   450 Nov 13  2000 
     InputStreamProgressListener.cla
     -rw-r--r--    1 jjv5  staff  1500 Jun  9  2000 
     InputStreamProgressListener.jav
     
     in the uk/ac/sanger/pathogens/ directory. This is not a problem with 
     the tar file, as the names are correct. It seems to be some problem 
     with OS X. This only happens when the tar file is untarred on the 
     Desktop, which is what happens by default if you click to download from 
     your web page. Moving the tar file to another directory then untarring 
     fixes the problem. There is some information known about this with OS 
     X, but I didn't care to track down the details. I just thought I'd let 
     you know so you can give a quick fix if anyone else complains of the 
     same problem.