The project source files are held and maintained under CVS. Only the project development team have permission to update the CVS repository, but anyone else can easily obtain a complete copy of the project for their own use. Some CVS servers implement “anonymous” user access, but we do not. You will first have to register with our project as an observer. As well as giving you the right to participate in the mailing lists, the registration process will assign a userid and password for your private use. This userid/password combination will automatically permit you to read the CVS Repository of the project.
The project is structured and maintained in a manner that gives you considerable freedom of choice. Of course, pre-built versions for various platforms are available for download. However, if you want to build, test, debug or even modify SIP Communicator, you still have a significant choice of platforms and tools. Whatever tool you choose (or already prefer), you will still need to perform the following steps:
- Use CVS to checkout the latest source tree from the Repository (or update your current sandbox to the latest version of the source).
- Use Ant to build (and test) the project.
- Configure your version to run on your own computer.
Some people prefer to use command-line tools, while others prefer to use an IDE such as the open source Eclipse and NetBeans projects. The project developers use several IDE’s and do not endorse any particular product.
If you want to work with the source, test and debug the project under the Eclipse or Netbeans IDE’s, here is further information:
- Eclipse is an open source project that has a platform-specific code. If you have a supported platform (*nix, Microsoft Windows), you will find it stable and feature-rich. See Configure Eclipse for advice on setting it up to build SIP Communicator.
- NetBeans is an open source project written in pure java. It is feature-rich, but has recently undergone several major changes. It ships with sample run scripts for *nix, Microsoft Windows and OS/2. See Configure Netbeans for advice on setting it up to build SIP Communicator.
Author: Brian Burch