PQ63151: WAS INSTALL ON AIX MAY FAIL WITH JAVA.LANG.NUMBERFORMATEXCEPTION

APAR status
Closed as fixed if next.

Error description
During installation of WAS a java.lang.NumberFormatException may
be thrown while processing LPP id data.  The installation
program does not catch the exception, so there are no recovery
options and the exception causes the installation process to
terminate early.  The installation program should catch the
exception and attempt to handle it by suggesting how to recover
or by reporting a meaningful error message.
Local fix
There is no workaround for this problem.
Problem summary
****************************************************************
* USERS AFFECTED: WebSphere Application users who are running  *
*                 on AIX 4.3.3 and using the GUI mode of       *
*                 installation for 4.0.1. They are executing   *
*                 the install script with the bash shell.      *
****************************************************************
* PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: During installation of WAS 4.0.1 on     *
*                      AIX 4.3.3 in gui install mode,          *
*                      java.lang.NumberFormatException may     *
*                      be thrown while processing LPP id       *
*                      data.  The installation program does    *
*                      not catch the exception, so there       *
*                      are no recovery options and the         *
*                      exception causes the installation       *
*                      process to terminate early.             *
****************************************************************
* RECOMMENDATION:                                              *
****************************************************************
There is a problem with a portion of the install code which
appears when running the GUI install for WAS 4.0.1 on
AIX 4.3.3.  The way the lpp data comes back from the
os command under certain circumstances causes the
install script to throw an exception.  The install
cannot proceed.

The root cause of this problem has been located in the
code. However, base install code is only updated
on subsequent releases and  changes are not made in the
form of efixes.  But several possible work arounds to the
problem have been provided.  There are two versions of bash
installed with AIX 4.3.3, and the install code is not able
to use both of these for the installation of 4.0.1.
The bash shell in /bin is the one that should be used, as
opposed to the one in /usr/local/bin.  The other one provides
output from lslpp that is not compatible with the
install code.  So the suggestion is to use one of the following
methods to install the product:
 - use sh or ksh to run the install code
 - use bash from /bin to run the install code
 - perform a silent install to avoid gathering of info for
   the GUI
The workarounds were not tested by the customer that brought
this problem to our attention.  However, it has already been
fixed in the next full release as the code base for
interacting with the OS is completely new and more robust.
Problem conclusion Temporary fix Comments
APAR information
APAR number PQ63151
Reported component name WEBSPHERE AE AI
Reported component ID 5630A2200
Reported release 400
Status CLOSED FIN
PE NoPE
HIPER NoHIPER
Submitted date 2002-07-15
Closed date 2002-07-31
Last modified date 2003-01-10

APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

Modules/Macros
INSTALL          

Fix information

Applicable component levels
R400 PSN    UP


Document Information


Product categories: Software > Application Servers > Distributed Application & Web Servers > WebSphere Application Server > General
Operating system(s):
Software version: 400
Software edition:
Reference #: PQ63151
IBM Group: Software Group
Modified date: Jan 10, 2003