BlueJ On Mac OS X For The Open University (Updated)

Paul Martin — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 11:31:41 +0000

If you fancy using BlueJ on Mac OS X, head over to bluej.org and grab the stable version for Mac OS X. Once downloaded you will have the BlueJ folder, just put this where you keep your other apps. This is a stock BlueJ install so you will need to add the OU components.

Instructions

1. Right click, or control click if you have a single button mouse on the BlueJ icon. Select the option “Show Package Contents” this will open a window with a folder named “Contents”.

2. Navigate to the userlib folder Contents > Resources > Java > userlib.

3. Pop in the Course software CD, at the root of the CD is a folder named “libraryfiles” go inside here and copy the files bsh-2.0b4.jar and ou.jar to the userlib folder opened in the last step.

4. Next navigate to the folder Contents > Resources > Java > extensions.

5. From the root of the course CD copy the jars “eaextension.jar” and “ouwextension.jar”.

6. In the Finder navigate to the folder named Library in the root of your hard drive and scroll down to the folder Java, copy the same two jars bsh-2.0b4.jar and ou.jar
to the folder named Extensions.

Quick listing:
Inside BlueJ application bundle:
Resources > Java > extensions should contain the following:
eaextension.jar
ouwextension.jar

Inside BlueJ application bundle:
Resources > Java > userlib should contain
bsh-2.0b4.jar
ou.jar

In the Library Folder in the Hard Drive and not in your home folder.
/Library/Java/Extensions should contain the following:
bsh-2.0b4.jar
ou.jar

Thats it done. Now your good to go!

Note: I have seen another site that says to put bsh-2.0b4.jar and ou.jar in /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5.0/Home/lib/ext/ this location is the actual Java system and should not really be touched. The Location /Library/Java/Extensions is the official location for additional jars and classes specified by Apple, all extensions are loaded when the JavaVM is started up. Another advantage of this approach is that if Apple updates the Java installation which is common this location is static and will just work with future versions.

If you want some more info, or find this useful leave me a comment.

Open University Firstclass Client On Mac OS X

Paul Martin — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 04:36:22 +0000

The Open University are terrible at supporting anything but Microsoft stuff. They seem to treat it like some sort of virus. The Open University use a piece of software for all the communications and stuff called Firstclass Client, they don’t say too much about the software as it comes on the CD that comes with the courses. What they failed to tell you is that it is cross platform! Thats right Mac OS X / Linux / Windows. As of version 8.3 I think it’s also a Universal Binary application so that means that both PowerPC and Intel are supported native.

Once you have downloaded and installed the Firstclass Client it will be missing the server settings for the Open Uni, I guess you could call up the OU computing help desk and get the details or you can use a Windows box to get the details. Just load up Firstclass and when the login in panel comes up click “Setup” and then just copy the server address your-course-server-here .open.ac.uk.

The user interface is the same on all platforms so the OU help desk should be able to help you if your really stuck. It would be pretty interesting to know how many OU people are using other platforms. If you come across this leave me a comment.

Download you flavour here! http://www.intl.firstclass.com/downloads/Clients

Here are some other OU posts I wrote recently, they might help someone out. I need to update the second one a bit.

BlueJ on Mac OS X for the Open University

Phasenoise » Open University

BlueJ On Mac OS X For The Open University (Updated)

Instructions

Open University Firstclass Client On Mac OS X