Need help installing local LanguageTool server for grammar checker

I think you will get a more informed response on the newsgroups on news.mozilla.org

I figured out a workaround, described here: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/need-help-installing-local-languagetool-server-for-thunderbird-grammar-checker-4175574579/#post5515242

An FYI... Jnlp files are java (tm) web start launcher

I note that on the blog posting the link to the JNLP file originated from three lines above the link states.

The simplest way to start the server is using Java Web Start (requires Java 6.0 or later)

Perhaps if you installed the prerequisite software you would not have an issue and would not be looking for a "workaround"

Just as an aside, a GUI is defacto standard these days, even if you do not use it. There is less guessing if you install one. Or X windows at least.

Matt said

An FYI... Jnlp files are java (tm) web start launcher I note that on the blog posting the link to the JNLP file originated from three lines above the link states.

The simplest way to start the server is using Java Web Start (requires Java 6.0 or later)

Perhaps if you installed the prerequisite software you would not have an issue and would not be looking for a "workaround"

Thanks, but I'm not sure I'm willing to invest the time to experiment with that. I looked at the Java Web Start page https://java.com/en/download/faq/java_webstart.xml. Supposedly, I already have JWS since I do have Java 5.0 or later. Still, I'd need to do some additional research to figure out how it all needs to be set up and run. That page says, "The Java Web Start software is launched automatically, when a Java application using Java Web Start technology is downloaded for the first time." Not sure to which platform they are referring, but that certainly wasn't happening for me.

Just as an aside, a GUI is defacto standard these days, even if you do not use it. There is less guessing if you install one. Or X windows at least.

I didn't travel down the installation road far enough to know what it needs X for. Just installation? Does it send grammar-checks to a workstation X dialog? In the case of the latter, the client workstations using Thunderbird are Windows, not X-terms.

As mentioned, our Linux servers -- although X software is installed -- do not use GUI's. These are servers locked in an equipment room and are generally interacted with remotely. To use the http://nuald.blogspot.com/2009/10/thunderbird-grammar-checker-extension.html formula it looks like I'd have to figure out how to install and get running Java Web Start (alongside, but not interfering with Apache/Tomcat), configure an X-desktop and run javaws from there, then figure out how to connect to all that from Windows. Probably all doable, but looks like a lot of work for a grammar checker. The web instructions simply aren't step-by-step enough for me.

By contrast, I think the less than 80 lines of jsp code I wrote was not only far simpler (requiring no installation or configuration of anything other than the LanguageTool archive), but makes Language tool more useable: I can turn off the spell checker since there is already a better spell checker in Thunderbird, and LanguageTool goes bananas spewing all sorts of garbage when it hits an html signature. In can easily chop off the signature before running the checker.

Generally, I don't expect to spend a day or more researching and installing additional software simply to get an email add-on installed. I'll stick with my solution and use the saved time to figure out why LanguageTool doesn't catch simple tense agreement problems like:

I go to the store and I bought milk. I goed to the store and I bought milk. I am went ...