Ubuntu 10.04 code name “Lucid Lynx” has released yesterday with some improvemets. But if you need to use Aptana Studio IDE in the 64-bit version of this easy-to-use linux, there’re some troubles. I think I could share some information of how to fix it.

1. Installing Aptana

It’s pretty easy to have Aptana working on the system. You just have to download Aptana Standalone version from the website (choose 64-bit platform of course):

http://aptana.org/studio/download

After downloading, you’ll see a zip file of about 82.4MB. Unzip it to somewhere in your computer. I unzipped it to my home ~/.

NOTE: your system must have Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed to run Aptana. So just type java in Terminal to see if you have JRE installed. If Terminal says “command not found”, you have to install it with this command.

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jre

When everything is installed successfully, you could go to unzipped folder of Aptana and run the Application by simply double clicking AptanaStudio file.

2. Fix some problems with Aptana and Plugins

Prob 1: Subversion and JavaHL Library

You run Aptana Studio and see message like this (if you exit Aptana and then Re-start it, you will not see the message again, but it’s still the problem. Go to Windows > Preferences > Team. Click SVN and you will see if the mess is still out there or not):

Failed to load JavaHL Library.
These are the errors that were encountered:
no libsvnjavahl-1 in java.library.path
no svnjavahl-1 in java.library.path
no svnjavahl in java.library.path
java.library.path = /usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/amd64/server:/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/lib/amd64:/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk/jre/../lib/amd64:/usr/lib64/xulrunner-addons:/usr/java/packages/lib/amd64:/usr/lib/jni:/lib:/usr/lib

This error is sometimes so complicated according to Subclipse wiki. But in my case, a simple fix can be the solution. add this line to AptanaStudio.ini in the folder you unzipped from Installation step.

-Djava.library.path=/usr/lib/jni

It works in my case. Hope it works in yours.

Prob 2: Code Assist showS white list

In fact, it’s not the white list. It’s a fully-functional Code assist pop-up but with both the Foreground and Background color in white.

This mess could be fix easily with a little change in Theme Color. Go to Ubuntu top Panel: System > Preference > Appearance

Click Customize and in Color tab, just change the color of Tooltips. I changed Text and Background to #000000 and #FFFFAF and found that it’s fine.

That’s it. These are 2 problems I’ve faced with Ubuntu and Aptana Studio. Hope this article help!

PS: I still wonder about the size of menu or tab bar of Aptana. I think it’s too thick. In Windows, Aptana Editor could show 34 lines of code but in Ubuntu it shows only 30 lines. If someone has the fix, please inform me. Thank you!