FreeMind on Linux

Installation

Java installation

FreeMind is a Java program, hence you need Java to make it work. There is the "Java runtime engine" (JRE or J2RE) required to run (use, start) FreeMind, and there is the "Java Development Kit" (JDK or J2DK) if you want to compile FreeMind.

If you don't know what compile means, then you need only the JRE. In the following lines, I will concentrate on making FreeMind run and the JRE installation.

From the distribution's RPM package

It's probably the easiest way:

1. start the software or package installation manager of your distro (e.g. YaST under SuSE),
2. search for java, JRE or J2RE,
3. choose (one of) the package providing the JRE,
4. install the chosen package (plus dependencies),
5. and quit the software manager.

It may be that the package for Java is already installed or doesn't exist, but then the software manager will tell you. In the first case, you can install FreeMind  ; in the 2nd case, you can try the next section.

From Sun's RPM package

On Fedora Core 2 and Mandrake, it looks like there is no 'native' Java package, hence installing the one from Sun seems to be the standard procedure:

1. go to http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html
2. click on the link Download J2SE JRE
3. accept the license agreement if you do agree with it.
4. Download the file marked RPM in self-extracting file
5. unpack it (with an example filename):

   $ sh j2re-1_4_2_06-linux-i586-rpm.bin

1. and then install the so created file as root user:

   # rpm -Uvh j2re-1_4_2_06-linux-i586.rpm

You're done (there are more detailed Instructions on the Sun page)!

Some additional notes:

• if you plan to do some Java development, you can alternatively install the JDKpackage, it provides as well the Java runtime engine.
• I've shown Java 1.4.2 as example, it looks like Java 1.5 aka 5.0 works as well but I haven't tested it yet, comments are welcome.
• you can of course install and download the Linux self-extracting file (i.e. not the RPM), but that's not the recommended way, as you loose the dependency checks (and the FreeMind RPMs won't install properly).

Further RPM alternatives

• Personally, on my SuSE 8.2 system, I have used the "Blackdown J2SDK" package from PackMan to create my own Java RPMs. It was pretty easy.
• The JPackage Project offers as well JRE and JDK packages in the non-free section, but I haven't tried them yet.

On a Debian System

As Java isn't really free or open, there is no official Debian package for it. The procedure is hence to install java-package from the contrib section, e.g. with

   # apt-get install java-package

Read the instructions delivered with the package, and create your own little Java package(s).

On a Gentoo system

No clue, feel free to write this one yourself.

FreeMind installation

We come now to the interesting part, the installation of FreeMind itself.