Path not updated - perhaps feedback to user should be provided

[mores]

I am running ubuntu 24.04 on a raspberry pi 5.

$ snap install openjdk
openjdk 22.0.1+8 from John Neffenger (jgneff) installed
more@localhost:~$ java -version
-bash: java: command not found

Perhaps after the install it should say:
"Please update your path to include: /snap/openjdk/current/jdk/bin/"

[jgneff]

Thank you, @mores. Unfortunately, it's not possible to print any messages during or after the installation. See:

• Print to the console from hook script
• How to show text after install?

That's why I added the Quick Setup instructions to the very top of the README file. In particular, if you want to use the OpenJDK Snap package tools in an unconfined environment, there are some concise examples under the Unconfined Usage subsection that show how to set up the JAVA_HOME and PATH environment variables.

The description of this Snap package says:

Installing this package does not replace the JDK provided by your Linux distribution but instead allows you to use both of them side by side. To get started, see the README file for this package on GitHub: https://github.com/jgneff/openjdk

I don't know what to do about people who won't read the README, other than try to make the instructions as simple as possible. I was hoping the Quick Setup section would help in that regard, but I'm open to other suggestions for changes to the package itself or its README file.

There are ways to make the setup automatic, but then the package would lose its ability to run in a strictly-confined environment, and it would no longer be able to connect automatically and seamlessly with the OpenJFX (JavaFX), Apache Maven, and Apache NetBeans Snap packages. In other words, it would lose the very reasons I created it in the first place.

[mores]

Sorry - this is the first time I am using snap.

In the past I would always do:
apt-get install openjdk
My path gets updated and I can continue with my work.

I am trying out ubuntu core...
apt-get - not found, ok I guess I have to use snap.

snap install openjdk - I expected the result to be the same as I was use to using apt-get.

$ snap find java
openjdk                      22.0.1+8              jgneff              -      Current JDK release and early-access builds

What should I have done differently to find a link to the README ?

[jgneff]

Sorry - this is the first time I am using snap.

I appreciate your comments and the time you took to provide feedback. You identified a problem that I have been trying to solve, but so far I have failed to find a solution that does not involve having the end user read the Snap package description and at least some of the README file.

snap install openjdk - I expected the result to be the same as I was use to using apt-get.

The result is different because the Snap package is confined. That's the primary difference between packages you install with apt-get and those you install with snap install. One of the main reasons Canonical developed Snap packages was to get away from the insecurity of Personal Package Archives (PPAs) installed with apt-get, for example.

With that said, there is in fact a way to make the result the same as when using apt-get, and that's by using classic confinement. Classic confinement, though, introduces many other problems:

• It requires manual approval.
• It no longer makes automatic connections with other Snap packages like JavaFX, Maven, and NetBeans (although maybe there's a way around this).
• It gives the publisher of the package far more access to your system with no security controls.

I'm trying to do the opposite: to have automatic approval in the Snap Store, to connect automatically with JavaFX, Maven, and NetBeans, and to require the least amount of trust in me, its publisher.

What should I have done differently to find a link to the README ?

Run the following command and read the text after description:

$ snap info openjdk

Or read the description on the OpenJDK page in the Snap Store.

I tried putting the link at the top, but I'm not sure that helped. Maybe I'll try that again. Meanwhile, I'll try to think of other says to make this easier. For example, I might be able to create a command that you could run to set up command aliases. Or perhaps I could also create a command to update the Java alternatives on the system.