Before starting the installation process and configuration of all the elements needed to operate gvSIG, it is recommended to review the basic starting points that are needed to make the process of running the application a successful experience.

• First, this guide is based on the use of the open source multiplatform integrated development environment Eclipse, on which all the necessary processes for the preparation and support of gvSIG will run. The version that was used in the preparation of this tutorial is 3.2, so it is advisable to use the same version or higher.

• It is also necessary to install any of the existing Eclipse plugins for working with Subversion, because there is no default support for developing such functionality. You may use the version of Subclipse or Subversive that is best suited to the version of Eclipse that you installed.

• On the other hand, and to ensure the proper functioning of all the components that are used by gvSIG, you will need to have installed version 1.5 or higher of Java Virtual Machine (JVM) from Sun Microsystems. It is important to check that this is a version of SUN, as gvSIG will not function properly on virtual machines from other entities, like the one that comes with the Debian GNU systems. For everything to run well the following must be considered:

  • In the Java preferences of Eclipse, indicate the JVM to be used to run projects.
  • Verify that Eclipse has the correct JVM set in the initial configuration, as starting Eclipse with the wrong JVM version can cause problems when running gvSIG.

• Finally, in addition to the Java virtual machine, gvSIG depends on a set of native libraries, among which are GDAL and PROJ. In case of Ubuntu, the libraries to be used are included in the distribution, and those can be installed through the corresponding package manager. The packages to be installed for the proper functioning of gvSIG are:

  • GDAL: libgdal1-1.4.0, libgdal1-1.5.0 or libgdal1-1.6.0 package, depending on which is available in your distribution.
  • GRASS (through GDAL): libgdal1-1.4.0-grass, libgdal1-1.5.0-grass or libgdal1-1.6.0-grass, depending on the GDAL version that you installed. When you install this package, it will also install GRASS.
  • PROJ: proj package

  For Windows or Mac, these libraries will be obtained through Maven when compiling and generating a build of gvSIG.

Once your computer meets these requirements, you can proceed with the installation of Maven and the creation of a workspace for gvSIG, since the other needed elements will be obtained by the built project of the application.