Newbie with questions about installing B4J to create apps to run on Linux Mint 21

HI,

I am a newbie. I am an old VB6/Clipper programmer who is looking to develop in Linux. Distros used: Centos 7, Linux Mint. I downloaded B4J installer on windows 11 and got a hello world app to come up quickly.

Then I started looking for the Linux setup and I am having trouble. I don't ever want to use wine again (I had some trouble with it.) so I hope that is not what I have to do to get it to work on Linux. I googled a question about the installation for Linux and their AI component jumped in and threw up this detailed how to guide. Somehow I don't think this is very accurate.

Me:
B4J: how to download (the right download for linux mint 21)
and Install and configure B4J...

AI:
To download, install, and configure B4J on Linux Mint 21,
you need to .

Steps:

1. Download Java (if needed):

• Check current Java version: Open a terminal and run
java -version. If you don't have a suitable Java
version installed, proceed to download:

• Go to Oracle website: Visit the official Oracle Java
download page.

• Select the right package: Choose the latest "Linux x64"
version of the Java Development Kit (JDK) for your
Linux Mint 21 system.
•

2. Download B4J:
• Access B4X website: Go to the B4X website.
• Download B4J: Navigate to the "B4J" section and
download the "Full Version (64-bit)" for Linux.
•

3. Install Java (if downloaded):
• Extract the package: Use your package manager to
install the downloaded Java package, typically by
running a command like:

Code
sudo dpkg -i <downloaded_java_package_name>.deb4. Install B4J:

4. Install B4J:

• Extract the archive: Navigate to the download directory
in your terminal and extract the B4J archive using a
command like:

Code

tar -xzf b4j_full_linux_x64.tar.gz

• Move to desired location: Move the extracted B4J folder
to a suitable location, for example, in your home
directory:

Code

mv b4j /home/<your_username>/b4j

5. Configure Environment Variables (Optional but
recommended):

• Edit your .bashrc: Open your bash configuration file
with a text editor:

Code

nano ~/.bashrc

• Add B4J path: Add the following lines to the end of the
file, replacing <your_username> with your actual
username:

Code

export B4J_HOME="/home/<your_username>/b4j"
export PATH="$PATH:$B4J_HOME/bin"

• Apply changes: Save the file and reload your shell
configuration:

Code

source ~/.bashrc

Testing the installation:

• Open a terminal: Launch a new terminal window.

• Run B4J: Type the following command to check if B4J is
installed correctly:

Code
b4j

Key points:

• Linux Mint 21 uses 64-bit architecture: Always download
the "Linux x64" version of B4J.

• Java compatibility: Ensure you have a compatible Java
JDK installed, as B4J relies on it.

• Environment variables: Setting up environment variables
makes it easier to access B4J from any directory in
your terminal.

If someone could point me to the current "how to" for getting things working with Linux I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks to all those working on this fine project.

1. If you have question, please post on the question forum. If you are asking for B4J, post the question on B4J question forum.
2. Avoid using bold fonts for your text. It's hard to read.
3. Use the search on top of the page. There are tutorials on running B4J on Linux.

As far as I know, you need Wine or similar apps. B4J IDE required you to install .Net framework for it to run. You just need to follow the correct steps to configure Wine.

drw said:

download the "Full Version (64-bit)" for Linux.

tar -xzf b4j_full_linux_x64.tar.gz

Click to expand...

If AI is telling you that a version of B4J exists for Linux, then I am 99.9% sure that it is incorrect. - That file shown above does not exist.

The B4J development environment is a 64-bit Windows Application. There is no Linux Distro. To run it under Linux you have to run the Windows Installation Package under WINE.

The JAR files compiled by B4J however can be run on ANY OS Environment that supports the JRE - MAC-OS, Linux, WIndows, etc.