Enclojure REPL can't find dependent clj file on Load

Question

I have a problem with the Enclojure REPL and using clojure modules from it. The Load/Change REPL to file/ns works fine with an isolated clojure file, but breaks with a file which has references to another clojure file which I try to use from my project.

Here are the exact steps:

• Create a new project.
• Create a clojure module foobar.clj (namespace com.acme.foobar)

• Define a function which returns a value in foobar.clj:

  (ns com.acme.foobar (:use com.acme.othermodule))

  (defn myfunc1 [] "a")

• Open a Netbeans IDE REPL

• From foobar.clj's context menu select:

  • Change REPL to file/ns
  • Load

• From REPL call the (myfunc1) function. This works just fine:

  com.acme.foobar=> (myfunc1) "a"

The problems start when when I try to refer to other files from foobar. Here's what I do:

• Create a new clojure module othermodule.clj

  (ns com.acme.othermodule)

  (defn fromothermodule [] "b")

• Now try to call this from foobar.clj:

  (defn myfunc2 [] (fromothermodule))

• From othermodule.clj's context menu I select:

  • Change REPL to file/ns
  • Load

To make the REPL realize that there is new module it should be able to run.

• I do same things things to foobar.clj which now refers to othermodule.clj, but I get:

CompilerException java.io.FileNotFoundException: Could not locate com/acme/othermodule__init.class or com/acme/othermodule.clj on classpath: (NO_SOURCE_FILE:50) com.acme.foobar=>

This error message comes from both "Change REPL to file/ns" and "Load"

What am I missing? Should I do some other tricks to make this happen? Even the desperate measure of Run->Clean and Build the main project doesn't help (that would of course make the REPL business pretty painful anyway).

I am using NetBeans 6.7.1 and enclojure-plugin-2009-11-3.nbm.

Answer 1

My first recommendation is to move from NetBeans/Enclojure to IDEA/La Clojure. JetBrains recently created an open source version of their IDE, and the Clojure plugin works fine in it. Since discovering this, I ditched NetBeans and Enclojure. I find La Clojure a pleasure to work in, but of course your mileage may vary.

Back from when I did this in NetBeans, I seem to remember Enclojure source code resides in a subdirectory called "lib". I think I solved a similar problem by fiddling with directory prefixes on the name of the file to load. Probably something like "../lib/YourName". I managed this by trial and error, so I can't relate the exact rules and syntax.

Two things that might help:

• You can run something like (println (System/getProperty "java.user.dir")) to find out where Clojure thinks it's executing from.

• You could start, as I did, with using an absolute path until you find your way to the correct directory name. Something like "/home/carl/NetbeansProjects/MyProject/lib/myfile.clj" .

Answer 2

Got the right solution from Eric Thorsen in the google group:

There are three ways to create the REPL from window-menu. Don't use any of those, instead right click on the Project and "Start Project REPL". Now the paths are set up accordingly.