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Mozilla on AIX FAQ

Last updated: 2004/04/27
Questions or comments to netscape.public.mozilla.unix.

Authors: Jim Dunn <jdunn@maine.rr.com>,
Philip Warren <pkw@us.ibm.com>

Supported OS Version(s):

Mozilla requires AIX 4.3.3 or greater to build and run. If you encounter problems running Mozilla on an early level of AIX 4.3.3, it is recommended that you download and install the latest maintenance level for AIX 4.3.3 from http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/support/pseries/fixes/.

To determine the AIX version, use the following commands:

/usr/bin/oslevel (For base version number)
/usr/bin/oslevel -r (For base version number and maintenance level)

Runtime Prerequisites

A few RPMS from the AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications are required to run Mozilla on AIX. Support for the AIX Toolbox is provided through the mailing list.

Installp Image (Required for AIX 4.3 only - installed by default on AIX 5+):

RPM images (for GTK1 builds):

RPM images (for GTK2 builds):

What compiler should I use?

  • VisualAge C++ v5.0.2.0 with July 2002 PTF or later
  • VisualAge C++ v6.0.0.0 with May 2003 PTF or later

The latest fixes for the VisualAge C++ compiler can be downloaded from the following location:
http://www.ibm.com/software/awdtools/vacpp/support/.

It is currently not possible to build Mozilla for AIX using gcc.

Build Prerequisites

In addition to the Runtime Prerequisites listed above, the following RPMs are required to build Mozilla:

Common build requirements needed for all builds:

GTK1 build requirements:

GTK2 build requirements:

How do I build?

  1. Checkout from Mozilla CVS (NOTE: Follow the generic Unix instructions, but substitute 'make' with 'gmake'.)

  2. Configure your build:

    • Sample AIX Optimized .mozconfig: 
      ac_add_options --disable-tests
ac_add_options --disable-auto-deps
ac_add_options --enable-crypto
ac_add_options --enable-extensions
mk_add_options MOZ_OBJDIR=@TOPSRCDIR@/obj-opt
ac_add_options --disable-debug
ac_add_options --enable-optimize="-O2 -qmaxmem=-1 -qalias=noansi"
# Uncomment the following line to create a GTK2 build
# ac_add_options --enable-default-toolkit=gtk2
CC=xlc_r
CXX=xlC_r
LANG=C
LDFLAGS="-brtl -bso -bh:5"
    • Sample AIX Debug .mozconfig: 
      ac_add_options --disable-tests
ac_add_options --disable-auto-deps
ac_add_options --enable-crypto
ac_add_options --enable-extensions
mk_add_options MOZ_OBJDIR=@TOPSRCDIR@/obj-debug
ac_add_options --enable-debug
# Uncomment the following line to create a GTK2 build
# ac_add_options --enable-default-toolkit=gtk2
CC=xlc_r
CXX=xlC_r
LANG=C
LDFLAGS="-brtl -bso -bh:5"

  3. Build:

    • Create a .mozconfig file in your mozilla root directory, following the samples above. Then build Mozilla with the following command:
      gmake -f client.mk build 2&>1 | tee ../build.log

Additional Notes

  • If building an older version of Mozilla for AIX, you may need to change the line:

          echo $libdirs -Wl,-brtl -lgtk -lgdk $my_glib_libs -lintl -lXext -lX11 -lm

    to:

          echo $libdirs -brtl -lgtk -lgdk $my_glib_libs -lintl -lXext -lX11 -lm

    in /opt/freeware/bin/gtk-config to prevent build errors in makeC++SharedLib.

  • The CONFIG_SHELL and CONFIGURE_ENV_ARGS environment variables are useful if you would like to override the default shell which is used in the configure process for Mozilla. We have found that using the GNU bash shell instead of the default ksh shell on AIX greatly speeds up the time it takes to configure a Mozilla build. To use the GNU bash shell instead of ksh, you would export the following variables prior to starting your Mozilla build:

    export CONFIG_SHELL=/opt/freeware/bin/bash
    export CONFIGURE_ENV_ARGS=/opt/freeware/bin/bash