Re:Integrating Java with Gnome and Orbit (Score 2)

Basically it works, but there are two pitfalls:

The easiest is the name service (CosNaming). Orbit doesn't yet implement the bootstrap protocol for finding the name service, so your Java ORB will probably not find it. The workaround is to run the name service of your Java ORB, and let Gnome components register themselves there. You have to start the name service before Gnome, somehow obtain its stringified IOR, and tell the Gnome apps about the IOR. OK - I'm handwaving a little here.

Second, there's authentication. ORBit does nothing nonstandard here, but Gnome apps use ORBit through the Gnorba library. Gnorba embeds a magic cookie in the principal field of IIOP. If your Java ORB lets you manipulate the principal field, you can configure it with the cookie, which you can find in a property of the root window of your X display. See gnome-libs/libgnorba/orbitgtk.c for the gory details.

If you can't tell your Java ORB what principal to use, you can disable authentication in libgnorba. This is only safe in a secure environment - everybody on your network will be able to do what they want with your Gnome components. But what you do is patch the function gnome_ORBit_request_validate in orbitgtk.c to always return ORBIT_MESSAGE_ALLOW_ALL. Build libgnorba and install it in place of the version you've got. You don't have to reinstall anything else.

But remember, this is unsafe on an open network.