Help me to download STEP Bible in my Linux OS

[herry susanto]

I'm using Linux operating system (Ubuntu). So, can I download Step Bible?

[David Instone-Brewer]

We have tested some Linux installations but they have problems. 
You can try them out - see http://dev.stepbible.org/downloads/nightly/

Someone said that they work fine if you rename the modules with different cases, ie: 

abpen-the.zip, abpgk-the.zip, ESV-THE.zip, KJV.zip, LXX-THE.zip, NIV.zip, OSMHB.zip, SBLG-THE.zip

If you find this works for you, we'd love to have the feedback. 

We regard Linux as important but we are working on other things at present. 
Do you perhaps have any skills you can offer to help develop this?

David IB

[Vincent Murphy]

Hi Herry,

I installed it ok with the rpm under fedora Linux. However the renames to the module files for case were required before it would complete setup (via browser) (as David mentions above). As you likely know, Windows is not case sensitive for file names - but Linux is.

In my install the files were here:
/opt/step/offlineModules/

Reading the log file should be a helpful guide in case I've missed any file name.

Vincent


Vincent Murphy, Pastoral Assistant
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[megumi.f...@gmail.com]

Hello,

I tried the deb installer of both v.2.0.5 and v.2.0.8 from http://dev.stepbible.org/downloads/nightly/ on my Dell Latitude D510 laptop running elementary OS 0.3.1 Freya (32-bit), which is based on Ubuntu 14.04. In both cases, the deb package installed, but when I run /opt/step/step, the web browser opens and says 

"Welcome to STEP!

This is the first time you have run the STEP software. Please be patient while it installs.

Please note these actions do NOT require any access to the Internet.

=====0% complete=====

hh:mm:ss GMT Downloading files (100%)"

but nothing happens after that no matter how long I wait.

I tried renaming the Bible module files in /opt/step/offlineModules/ as suggested by David IB, but the result did not change.

It seems to me that STEP Bible software is a combination of web and java, both of which are common platform-independent technologies. Clearly there is no reason why it should not run in any modern OS environment. What exactly is the STEP software trying to "install"? I suspect that a part of the STEP software is trying to "automate" the process of reading archived data contents and copying/linking some/all of them to the local user directory. If someone can tell me what exactly is meant to be done by this process, I would like to do the job myself manually, so that I can get on with actually using the software.

I would rather have a working version of the essence of the STEP Bible software now than wait for something with fancy but really unnecessary bells and whistles.

Please help.

Megumi

[Megumi]

UPDATE

Since then I changed my Linux distribution from Elementary OS to Pinguy OS 14.03.3 (32bit) on my Dell Latitude D510 and had success in installing STEP 2.0.8 snapshot (DEB package) and making it work. I also had a success on my colleague's Toshiba laptop, running Zorin OS 9 (32 bit). Both Pinguy OS 14 and Zorin OS 9 are based on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, so I expect the same success can be expected on other distros with the same Ubuntu base.

3 problems to overcome

(1) Manual Install STEP

The installer package has a name "step", but that name is already used by another package (some sort of physics educational software for KDE). So, if you instal the package in a normal way, the package management system (command line or GUI) will 'complain' that there is a newer version of the package in the repository. You can 'force' it to install the package (without downloading from the repository), but then it will flag every time you check for the update, and unless you meticulously uncheck the step package every time, the automatic update system will overwrite the STEP Bible software with the physics program.

My workaround is to avoid using the package management system. Using the unarchiver, extract from the DEB package a file named 'data.tar.bz2'. Extract from that a folder named 'opt'. Inside that is a folder named 'step'. Move this 'step' folder (with all its contents) to the /opt directory (so you get /opt/step).

To move the 'step' folder inside the 'opt' folder, you will need to have the administrator's privilege. 

Once the folder was in place, I changed the ownership of the folder and its contents to me, and also changed their permission setting to 755. I don't know if this is necessary, but I did that anyway, and it didn't do any harm.

sudo chown -R megumi:megumi /opt/step

sudo chmod -R 755 /opt/step

(2) Rename SOME of the Offline Modules

Inside /opt/step/offlineModules, there are 8 .zip files (representing 8 different Bible versions):

aspen-the.zip

abpgk-the.zip

esv-the.zip

kjv.zip

lxx-the.zip

niv.zip

osmhb.zip

sblg-the.zip

Note that they are all in lower case. When you first launch the STEP program, it will try to perform some sort of indexing of the Bible modules. This process seems to get stuck for 5 of the modules when their filename is not in UPPER case. Rename them (only those 5 and no other) using the CAPITAL letters like this:

aspen-the.zip

abpgk-the.zip

ESV-THE.zip

kjv.zip

LXX-THE.zip

NIV.zip

OSMHB.zip

SBLG-THE.zip

If you have changed the ownership and permissions as I mentioned above, then you should be able to rename them without the administrator's privilege. 

(3) Install OpenJRE 7

Pinguy OS 14.04.3 came with an experimental version of Java, JDK 9 from Oracle, which I understand is the "next major release" expected in March 2017 (meaning not yet ready for release at the moment), and it didn't seem to work with STEP (or with LIbreOffice). So, I installed openJRE 7 with Synaptic package manager. STEP (and LibreOffice) seems to work fine with it.

After doing the above 3 things, I created a menu item for executing "/opt/step/step". STEP opens within my web browser nicely. 

Megumi

[Fred Smith]

I've installed the latest RPM file for Step on Centos-7. The installation doesn't add it to the menu system, and doesn't drop an icon on the desktop, though the icon on the desktop is easy to acheive: copy /opt/step/step.desktop to ~/Desktop, and you've got a Step logo on your desktop.

i've done the permission/ownership change Megumi suggests, as well as renaming the five files. I did NOT need to do anything with java, the various Java bits that come with Centos-7 seem to work fine.

after doing those steps, just click on the desktop icon and you're off to the races!

thanks, Megumi, for the pointer to the filename case issue. That probably comes from people being used to Windows being case-insensitive.

Fred

[Chris Burrell]

Hi Everyone

I'm one of the developers of STEP. Over the last few weeks, we've worked to streamline the installation process (generally on all platforms) and we've also made a brand new installer package for Centos and Ubuntu (based on the comments in this thread and other user feedback). Apologies for the delays - STEP relies on volunteers to be developed). The comments above were really helpful. The lengthy process of installing & indexing books & data at the very start after the package install has also been removed. So the install should install everything required. 

The following issues are fixed (hopefully)..

* package name (now stepbible)

* casing issues with index names, module names (all, hopefully)

* permissions, etc.

Here is where you can find the beta packages:

http://dev.stepbible.org/downloads/nightly/stepbible_linux_2_0_10-SNAPSHOT.rpm

http://dev.stepbible.org/downloads/nightly/stepbible_linux_2_0_10-SNAPSHOT.deb 

http://dev.stepbible.org/downloads/nightly/stepbible_unix_2_0_10-SNAPSHOT.tar.gz

There is one current known limitation on Centos 7, which is that you have to run STEP from the 'root' account. If someone knows a little about post-install scripts in RPM packages, then I can fix this very easily (just need to find a way of finding the user who is installing the package, rather the user used to install the package - i.e. if the logged on user is 'centos', then I need to find a way of getting 'centos' as a variable from the post-install script - let me know any thoughts on that.) 

For ubuntu, this doesn't seem to be an issue.

Work around for Centos (after installing the package)

On Linux, you'll need to have java already installed.

Thanks all

Chris

[Megumi]

Hello Chris,

Thank you for producing the new installers. I've tried the DEBian package installer, stepbible_linux_2_0_10-SNAPSHOT.deb, on two of my laptops, both running Linux Mint 18 Xfce edition (based on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS).

Installing it from the terminal with a command:

$ sudo dpkg -i stepbible_linux_2_0_10-SNAPSHOT.deb

worked beautifully. At the end of it, I found a symbolic link (shortcut) on the desktop for starting the STEP Bible, and double-clicking it started the web browser to open the STEP Bible nicely.

Double-clicking on the installer file opened it with a graphical installer Gdebi. It seemed to go through the process (rather slowly), and reported that the installation was completed, but at the end, there was no symbolic link (shortcut) on the desktop for STEP, suggesting that something of the intended installation did not complete.

Noting that Gdebi did not run with an admin privilege, I started Gdebi from the terminal as:

$ gksudo gdebi-gtk

and then opened the STEP installer, but even then the result seemed the same as when running the installer as a normal user (i.e. no symbolic link on the desktop).

In any UNIX/LINUX environment, it is normal that software installation requires the admin user privilege. I don't think the installer should be expected to be run by a normal user. 

In conclusion, at the moment, the version 2.0.10 installer of stepbible package seems to work well from the terminal, but not from the Gdebi for some reason.

Hope this helps.

Megumi

[fgiannang]

Downloaded "stepbible_linux_2_0_10-SNAPSHOT.deb"
Installed it on Xubuntu 16.04 with sudo.
Everything seems fine.
A STEP link found on the Desktop (no menu item added however)
FG

[thrusce]

Downloaded STEP 2.0.12, installed with package manager on Ubuntu 19.04.

Terminal gives the following result:

coburn@da0032wm:/opt/step$ sh stepWARNING: An illegal reflective access operation has occurred
WARNING: Illegal reflective access by com.google.inject.internal.cglib.core.$ReflectUtils$2 (file:/opt/step/step-web/WEB-INF/lib/sisu-guice-3.1.3.jar) to method java.lang.ClassLoader.defineClass(java.lang.String,byte[],int,int,java.security.ProtectionDomain)
WARNING: Please consider reporting this to the maintainers of com.google.inject.internal.cglib.core.$ReflectUtils$2
WARNING: Use --illegal-access=warn to enable warnings of further illegal reflective access operations
WARNING: All illegal access operations will be denied in a future release

Gtk-Message: 09:25:41.836: Failed to load module "canberra-gtk-module"

STEP opens in the browser as http://localhost:8989/ but the text frame is blank. Typing in "ESV" or "Gen 1" gives a null result.

Following the dependency warning, installed libcanberra-gtk-module, which installs with libcanberra-gtk0. This produces no change in the displayed webpage.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Coby Ingram

[darrel_jw]

I also received the illegal reflective access error. Am running on Ubuntu Mate 19.04

Update - But as another posted when I run the install from command line the Stepbible does install. So I have it running now.

Darrel

[thrusce]

I want to underscore that the main problem is that STEP does not display Bibles after install. I believe I did try command-line first, which is my default. Same result.

[Coburn Ingram]

Nope, CLI install works.

On Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 10:46 AM thrusce <thr...@gmail.com> wrote:

I want to underscore that the main problem is that STEP does not display Bibles after install. I believe I did try command-line first, which is my default. Same result.

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[thrusce]

Still hoping for some help. Functionality is minimal. STEP will not show the dictionary or allow me to change chapters.

[Megumi]

I managed to successfully install STEP Bible for Linux (version 2.0.18) on Linux Mint 20.0 Xfce edition (based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS). Initially after installation, the browser opened with a few elements of STEP (like STEP logo and page layout) but with nill Bible content, but I found that this could be overcome by moving a few folders manually and changing their ownership.

WHAT I DID

I installed the package from the terminal by sudo dpkg -i stepbible_linux_2_0_18-SNAPSHOT.deb. At the end, I noticed an error report, saying "ln: failed to create symbolic link '/root/Desktop/step.desktop': No such file or directory". This seems to show that the installer tried to install STEP Bible for the user 'root'. (As far as I know, on Linux and UNIX-like systems, application software must ALWAYS be installed with an admin user privilege, but is NEVER installed to the root user account. I was logged into my standard user account 'academic-dean', and I installed with an admin user privilege by using 'sudo', and the installer SHOULD HAVE installed the software to my home folder /home/academic-dean, NOT to the root user folder /root.)

When I looked into the /root directory, there was no 'Desktop' folder in there, which is why the STEP installer failed to created a symbolic link 'step.desktop' in '/root/Desktop', because there was no such directory.

However, in the /root directory, there were a number of hidden files and folders (please see the attached screenshot), confirming that the STEP installer tried to install to the root user account (instead of the standard user account to which I was logged in). I moved 3 of those (1 folder and 2 links) that looked important to my standard user home folder:

     /root/.install4j (folder)

     /root/.jsword (link)

     /root/.sword (link)

Since these 3 things were owned by the root user, I changed their ownership to my standard user account.

Looking at the /opt/step directory, the main installation location of the STEP Bible software, I saw that everything was installed properly there. But I saw that all files and folders there were owned by the root user. I did not want these to be inaccessible to me when I am logged in as a standard user, so I changed the ownership to my standard user account.

After this, I created a launcher in menu/panel to execute the command:

/bin/sh "/opt/step/step"

STEP Bible opened as it should in my web-browser.

PROCEDURE

(1) Download stepbible_linux_2_0_18-SNAPSHOT.deb package from http://dev.stepbible.org/downloads/nightly/

(2) Install the package (either from the terminal or by GUI method with apps like GDebi)

(3) Move 3 files/folders from the root user folder to your normal user home folder. If from the terminal, do these:

sudo mv /root/.install4j /home/your-user-name

sudo mv /root/.jsword /home/your-user-name

sudo mv /root/.sword /home/your-user-name

(4) Change the 3 files/folder's ownership. If from the terminal, do these:

chown -R your-user-name:your-user-name /home/your-user-name/.install4j

chown your-user-name:your-user-name /home/your-user-name/.jsword

chown your-user-name:your-user-name /home/your-user-name/.sword

(5) Change the ownership of the main STEP installation at /opt/step. If from the terminal, do this:

sudo chown -R your-user-name:your-user-name /opt/step

[EDIT: This step 5 is not only unnecessary but also non recommended, as pointed out by Coby/thrusce in the next post]

(6) Create a desktop launcher or menu/panel launcher

The command to execute is: /bin/sh "/opt/step/step"

If you want a STEP icon for your launcher, it is inside a hidden folder at /opt/step/.install4j/step.png

Hope this helps.

[thrusce]

Did you test the app after you moved the files out of root and into your home directory, but before you did the chown on /opt/step? There is no need to chown installed files. The only files that need to be the property of the user are those in the home directory. Read-only access is sufficient for the rest. In fact, this is why Linux is secure.

It works fine for me like that. I am profoundly grateful, by the way, to Tyndale for making this available. I have done some hacking on the files myself, and there is a lot in there. Also, thanks to the Crosswire team for the Bible modules... and SIL, and everybody else...

sudo cp -r /root/.jsword ~; sudo cp -r /root/.sword ~

sudo chown -R your-user-name:your-user-name .jsword; sudo chown -R your-user-name:your-user-name .sword

sudo gedit /usr/share/applications/step.desktop

Then put something in the Desktop file:

[Desktop Entry]
Version=2.0.20
Name=STEP Bible
Comment=Scripture Tools for Every Person
Exec=/opt/step/step %U
Icon=/opt/step/.install4j/step.png
Terminal=false
Type=Application

Next (assuming you are using Gnome, not XFCE) you want to copy the launcher file to the desktop. You can do this in the GUI but since you are already in terminal:

cp /usr/share/applications/step.desktop ~/Desktop

Go to the desktop. Not in Nautilus, just the actual desktop. Right-click the launcher, and select Allow Launching. The icon should change from a blank document to the Step icon. It should run.

Typically we would expect the app to appear in your "phone menu" that pops up when you hit the hotcorner or the activities button. On my install (Ubuntu 20.04 Gnome) it requires a restart. But once you have it there, you can move it from your Desktop to your Favorites bar, and delete the link on the desktop.

Developers, please take note. This process probably should be automated. Ubuntu and Mint are the primary distributions of Linux, at least in terms of popularity. If it don't run on Ubuntu, it don't run on Linux. We would be grateful.

Thanks,

Coby

[thrusce]

See edits.

[Megumi]

Thank you, Coby, for your response. I shared what I found/did, partly because I saw your posts from August last year (2019). I am very glad that you found a solution from elsewhere since then, but I shared hoping that my story would help others who experienced similar problems as you and I.

Thank you for pointing out the non-necessity of changing the ownership of /opt/step folder and its contents. No, I didn't try before doing chown there. I just did, wanting to avoid a permission problem. But, you are right, of course, about the security concern, and so, I changed the ownership back to root. And, as you say, I find STEP Bible working fine like that.

I also agree and add my voice to yours to request the developers to improve the installer for Linux. Our findings shared here should be adequate to make a few minor modifications to the installer, so that the whole process just works for the future Linux users who want to try STEP Bible.

Last year in April, I posted a message to the 'STEP Bible on macOS' thread (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/stepbibleforum/help-me/aNRwmU81mP4). Basically, the Mac installer then was trying to install to the root user folder, which is the same thing the Linux installer is still trying to do. Since macOS is a UNIX system, it is not surprising that the same mistake is made for both macOS and Linux. I am NO expert in Linux/UNIX or in computing in general, but it seems to me that the developer might benefit from investing a little time to become a little more familiar with the Linux/UNIX system structure.

Just as on macOS,

     /Applications  is the location for installing application software (used by all users)

     /Library  is the location of shared resources (used by applications)

     /Users/<user-name>/Library   is the location for storing user-specific resources

so on Linux (like Ubuntu and its variants, but maybe all Debian-based systems, and perhaps even other Linux distros in general?),

     /usr/bin (or /usr/local/bin)  is the 'typical' location for installing application software (used by all users) (though /opt is also acceptable)

     /usr/lib (or /usr/local/lib)  is the 'typical' location for shared resources (used by applications)

     /home/<user-name>/.<app-name>  is the 'typical' way to store user-specific resources in a hidden folder

In all cases, nothing should be installed to the root user account.

[thrusce]

Boy, I hope they get this fixed.

I agree with you on all counts. I also am not a developer, just an experienced user. I can fix simple things like a stuck install, but I can get over my head without much trouble.

Far be it from me to be critical. But I do have that question. Why are we installing to /opt instead of /usr/share? Why isn't the Desktop file where it should be? But I am just commiserating at this point. I'm sure it will get sorted out eventually.

Unfortunately, when I said "It works!" I jumped the gun. I get Genesis 1, but I can't seem to change the version or chapter.

Just ruminating here, I would love it if God would give us time and inclination and help enough to get a Bible app working that:

a) does all the stuff STEP does,

b) is not built on Java, and

c) is cross-machine and cross-browser portable, without a local footprint.

The last is important in other areas of the world.

[Megumi]

Hello again, thrusce/Coby.

I am sorry to hear that you have a problem of getting anything other than Genesis 1 in STEP Bible. (Still, let us take heart. At least you can access Genesis 1, which is one of the most important chapters of the Bible!)

Just to give you hope, my STEP Bible installation is really working properly. I can switch to other books/chapters, as the attached screenshot shows. So, don't give up, STEP Bible should work on your Ubuntu installation as well.

I share your views on the importance of cross-platform availability and the dislike of Java. Still, as you say, we must be grateful for STEP Bible for what it is and what it can do. Our big thank-you goes to those who have worked and continue to work very hard to make it work. I hope our comments here will help you in your work to make STEP Bible better for all computing platforms.

[thrusce]

Developers:

What you have done with STEP seems very similar to a Snap package.  It is a self-contained package that has all the parts needed to run your app, e.g. Tomcat, Sword, Java, etc. There is no mixup with different flavors of Linux putting things in different directories, because everything is there in the snap, like a ship in a bottle. And so I think it would run on Ubuntu.

I'm sure you know that, but has anybody tried packaging STEP as a snap? It seems trivial. Except for me. I wouldn't know what all the parts are. But if, for example, somebody gave me a bike in a box on Christmas, I could follow the instructions and put it together.

I am just putting the thought out there. I have misgivings about doing it this way. I can't put my finger on them. Perhaps it is because I see it like this:

All you are really doing is serving a bunch of documents to the browser. Some of those documents are essentially databases. And there are tools available in HTML to work with those documents and data in simple and straightforward fashion. I feel like using Java is overkill. It also calls portability and anonymity into question.

Granted, it would take a lot of work, But the basic structure is there. You are already serving STEP as a webpage. It would just need to be served through HTML, Javascript, and CSS instead of Java. The advantage of this system is that it would be zero install, hopefully platform-agnostic, and potentially zero footprint.

Sorry, I digress. But I think it's worth mentioning.

Thanks

[Coburn Ingram]

Megumi --

To reply to you directly, my install is working, sort of. I can navigate to new chapters via the dropdown. Search does not seem to work. When I mouseover a word in the ESV or the OHB, it throws errors. I can't imagine why it wouldn't work.

I will say that I am extremely grateful, both for STEP as a tool and for the hearts and minds behind the scenes.

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[Megumi]

Coby,

According to your description, it seems to me that the remaining issue with your STEP Bible installation relates to the 'controls' (search function, actions for mouseover event) rather than to the 'contents' (Bible versions, dictionaries, etc.). Would it be some sort of incompatibility issue with the version of Java runtme environment installed on your system? 

[Coburn Ingram]

So I have to use Oracle Java? Hmm.

On Thu, Jul 9, 2020 at 5:31 AM Megumi <megumi.f...@gmail.com> wrote:

Coby,

According to your description, it seems to me that the remaining issue with your STEP Bible installation relates to the 'controls' (search function, actions for mouseover event) rather than to the 'contents' (Bible versions, dictionaries, etc.). Would it be some sort of incompatibility issue with the version of Java runtme environment installed on your system? 

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[Coburn Ingram]

Nope, Oracle doesn't make a difference.

[Coburn Ingram]

I wonder if it's because I did a "minimal install" when I reloaded my OS recently. I have been having issues with other things, too. Maybe missing libs? You wouldn't think so, right?

Thanks

[Megumi]

Hello Coby,

Sorry that trying a different version of JRE didn't help. So, then, it's a case of mystery, calling for some detective work...

I understand that the 'minimal install' of Ubuntu includes the web browsing functionality. If so, I doubt that would cause your issue in the STEP Bible.

Like you, I perceive the STEP Bible essentially as a combination of  Web + Java. I expressed this perception in my early post to this forum (back in Nov. 2005), but since then I don't recall ever being confirmed or corrected. So, I continue with the assumption that our perception is basically right.

If I can also assume that you experience no issue when you visit the online STEP Bible at https://www.stepbible.org, then we know that everything works fine between the remote server and your local installation. Then the the only question is what's preventing for the same thing from happening locally between the local host and the browser. 

Since Gen 1 shows ok and you can move to different chapters/books (via dropdown menu), I think we can say that the web-side of things are present and working. Since the 'search' feature and the mouseover function (for displaying lexical information) are not working, I suspected Java-related problem, but if that's not the case, then what about some sort of communication barrier between the localhost and the browser? Do you have some sort of security software preventing a communication between the two or preventing execution of Java code?

[David Instone-Brewer]

I don't see how Java can be avoided. The Sword routines are all in Java, and there is a huge amount of Java programming. I agree it could (perhaps) all be rewritten in Javascript but it would be (as you say) a huge task, and I'm not sure it would run as fast on the server. 

David IB

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[Coburn Ingram]

Seems like Java is there to do the heavy lifting.

[Megumi]

Just noticed a new version of package, stepbible_linux_2_0_20-SNAPSHOT.deb at http://dev.stepbible.org/downloads/nightly/.

I downloaded it and installed it on an old 32-bit PC running Linux Mint 19.3. The whole installation process went without error and the STEP Bible worked well.

I think this package is now good enough for general release.

Megumi

[Megumi]

CORRECTION to my previous post above.

To my surprise, my old PC turns out to be actually a 64-bit system.

Megumi

[David Instone-Brewer]

Wonderful ! - thanks for taking time to report this.

I'm sorry that you have had so many problems, and congratulations on sticking with it till you sorted it out.

David IB

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[David Instone-Brewer]

BTW - are you able to see the Quick Lexicon with the Linux installation? Some have reported this didn't work

The Quick Lexicon is the one at the top or bottom of the panel that appears when you hover over a word. 

David IB

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[Megumi]

Yes, the quick lexicon has always worked for me whenever installation completed successfully (with or without manual intervention). Please see the screenshot I attached to my post here on 7th July 2020.

Megumi

[Coburn Ingram]

I appreciate all the work you guys have done, but I still cannot get STEP to load on my Ubuntu OS. It cannot connect to localhost:8989. STEP is like the Amazon package we ordered the other day with a Bible in it. The tracking says they left it at our house but we never saw it. Thus, no Bible.

I wonder if it is because this is a fresh install. I do not have any other app that uses Apache2. Perhaps it is not getting activated correctly. I do have both OpenJDK and Java 14 installed and active. I have not messed with my iptables or firewall. Have you tested on a machine with a fresh install?

Thanks,

Coby

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[Coburn Ingram]

PS it is the Oracle Java that is default.

[thrusce]

It is as I suspected. I tried testing STEP on a clean install on a USB of Ubuntu 20.10. It installed without complaints. But when I went to run it, it said,

No suitable Java Virtual Machine could be found on your system.
The version of the JVM must be at least 1.7.

Please define INSTALL4J_JAVA_HOME to point to a suitable JVM.

This seems to be the problem. Please configure the DEB package with dependencies so that my computer knows all the packages that must be installed in order for STEP to run correctly. Currently it "installs" (i.e. simply unpacks the tarball) without comment even though Java is not installed.

I will now go back to my hard-drive install and see if I even have Tomcat. I probably don't. You guys need to tell the computer what it needs or it will not even check.

[thrusce]

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ sudo apt install -y tomcat9 libcanberra-gtk-module

ubuntu@ubuntu:~$ step

java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: no splashscreen in java.library.path: [/usr/java/packages/lib, /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/jni, /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu, /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu, /usr/lib/jni, /lib, /usr/lib]
    at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary(ClassLoader.java:2670)
    at java.base/java.lang.Runtime.loadLibrary0(Runtime.java:830)
    at java.base/java.lang.System.loadLibrary(System.java:1873)
    at java.desktop/java.awt.SplashScreen$1.run(SplashScreen.java:134)
    at java.desktop/java.awt.SplashScreen$1.run(SplashScreen.java:132)
    at java.base/java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
    at java.desktop/java.awt.SplashScreen.getSplashScreen(SplashScreen.java:131)
    at com.tyndalehouse.step.server.STEPTomcatServer.closeSpashScreen(STEPTomcatServer.java:125)
    at com.tyndalehouse.step.server.STEPTomcatServer.finishStartUp(STEPTomcatServer.java:117)
    at com.tyndalehouse.step.server.STEPTomcatServer.start(STEPTomcatServer.java:341)
    at com.tyndalehouse.step.server.STEPTomcatServer.main(STEPTomcatServer.java:103)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
    at com.exe4j.runtime.LauncherEngine.launch(LauncherEngine.java:65)
    at com.install4j.runtime.launcher.UnixLauncher.main(UnixLauncher.java:57)

[thrusce]

PS I get the STEP screen in my browser but everything is blank and the label says "null results."

[STEP Bible Forum]

We have recently developed DEB and RPM installation files for STEP with Linux. It was tested on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and 20.04 LTS. 

See our downloads page here for the installation files: https://www.stepbible.org/downloads.jsp

We have also been blessed by STEPBible users who have offered to help our support team with Linux questions and testing so we look forward to providing more support for Linux issues than we could previously.

Thank you for your patience in awaiting these new developments,

The STEPBible Developers

On Monday, October 26, 2015 at 4:38:58 AM UTC-4 herrysu...@gmail.com wrote:

I'm using Linux operating system (Ubuntu). So, can I download Step Bible?

[Coburn Ingram]

The key to this project is "tennis-shoe" distribution. It should be runnable from a USB that can be shared hand-to-hand where there is no internet. It should also run cross-platform and zero-install. Perhaps if it is packaged as a jar?

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[dmckinnon78]

To fulfill the requirement of the "tennis-shoe" distribution, if an installation file was initially downloaded to a USB stick, and that stick handed around from person to person (who are disconnected from the internet), where each can installed STEPBible while in possession of the USB stick, does that work?  The USB stick could have both Linux install files (.deb and .rpm), and potentially a Windows installation file too, so that each person could use the one pertinent to them.  The installation instructions (https://downloads.stepbible.com/file/Stepbible/STEPBible_linux.pdf) assume internet connectivity, but these instructions can be used in this situation by starting at step #5 after the STEPBible file is copied from the USB to the user's Downloads folder on the disconnected computer.  The installer then takes care of copying java, the Bible files, the code-base, etc., which simplifies the work that would need to be performed on each computer.  If this works, we can update the instructions to include the disconnected scenario for installation.  If I have misunderstood your previous post where you mentioned it needs to be cross-platform and zero-install, then may I have you clarify these requirements further, please.

[dmckinnon78]

In addition to my previous comment, note that the latest downloads for .deb and .rpm include java, so you do not need to install java separately.  This should resolve the issue you mentioned in December.  Go to https://stepbible.org/downloads.jsp and try the most recent .deb for Ubuntu!

[thrusce]

To answer your previous post, as far as I understand it, putting the STEPBible install files on a USB, by itself, does not qualify as "tennis-shoe" distribution. The reason is that many people who do not have access to internet also do not have access to their own computer. I would imagine that you cannot install a program on an internet cafe computer because you need administrative permissions.

I believe that under Wi*dows you can package your program as a portable app. I believe Java has been made portable also. I know for sure that there is a portable XAMPP stack available, such that you can run a portable web server if that is how your app is configured. It is zero-install but not cross-platform.

The difficulty is that Linux does not allow portable executables that I am aware of. I do not know anything about Mac, except that it is basically proprietary Linux, with its own directory tree. This is why I constantly advocate that STEP be ported to pure web language, that is, to HTML, CSS, and Javascript. All the functions you need are available there, and they can be run on a read-only basis in any browser. Unfortunately, this is not trivial.

It is true that a Java app is the closest thing to portable I know of under Linux. Many Linux computers will run a jarfile from the file manager. My only concern is that public computers (my library has public computers based on Ubuntu) tend to have this feature locked down.

One thought is that you could publish your code in the hopes that someone would have the time to port it as a webapp.

Thanks,

Coby

[Tigran Aivazian]

Have you guys looked into AppImage possibility? See https://appimage.org/

I don't know the architecture of the STEP Bible application (or is it a web-application), so I can't say if AppImage approach will work, but I noticed in the email below the statement "The difficulty is that Linux does not allow portable executables that I am aware of." and decided to point out that Linux does actually allow portable executables and "AppImage" is precisely that.

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[Tigran Aivazian]

Oh, I've just tried it locally on Ubuntu 18.04 and it is WONDERFUL! The only question is: how do I install the additional bibles, which are listed in stepbible.org, but not included in the .deb package? Or, perhaps, not all of them, but at least those in English, Russian, Armenian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Samaritan? And commentaries too, would be nice.

[Tigran Aivazian]

Please ignore my question below -- I've figured it out. Although the installation procedure is a bit buggy, but with some extra patience and perseverance it can be made to work, so everything is fine now. Thanks again for developing such a useful tool for exploration of the Scriptures!

[dmckinnon78]

thrusce, thank you for explaning your requirements, and Tigran, thank you for your input about AppImage.  These are things that we will have to look into.

[thrusce]

I'm having a slight problem with STEP. Firefox will no longer open it in a new tab. I have to close Firefox to start it. At first glance this seems to be a known Firefox glitch, caused by a corrupted shutdown, but none of the recommended fixes work. I have tried pretty much everything short of reinstalling my OS. I am just putting this out there in case anybody has any ideas.

Thanks,

Coby