In my continuing search for a CalDAV server I have to confess I have avoided the Java solutions. I have a number of problems with Java, not least the fact that it is not DFSG free, although that seems to slowly be changing.

My initial goal is to find a server which I can use from an Evolution CalDAV client for a few fairly simple reasons:

• I use evolution for calendaring and e-mail
• Evolution is nowadays a quite stable and mature e-mail and calendar client
• I want to understand the CalDAV protocol and the documentation is all but impenetrable

Anyway, after playing with Apple's newly public Calendar Server, looking briefly at Chandler in the process, trying to find the Hula CalDAV support I moved on to look at Cosmo.

Java on Debian - the modern way

Cosmo is a java application, and it appears to require JRE 1.5 or later. Forunately things with Java aren't nearly as complicated nowadays as they used to be on Debian. I went to Sun's java download and got the latest J2SE 1.5 JRE and turned it into a Debian package using "make-jpkg" from the "java-package" package, installed that and used "update-alternatives" to make that my default Java:

sudo apt-get install java-package
make-jpkg jre-1_5_0_08-linux-i586.bin
sudo dpkg -i sun-j2re1.5_1.5.0+update08_i386.deb
sudo update-alternatives --config java


Starting Cosmo Running

I downloaded the current Cosmo 0.4 + Scooby 0.2 package, unpacked it and ran the start script:

JAVAHOME=/usr bin/osafsrvctl start


Following the Cosmo setup instructions I then browsed to http://localhost:8080/ and created myself an account.

Since I've also been reading far too much about CalDAV and getting things working with Evolution, I also went into Scooby and added a calendar appointment to ensure a calendar was created for that user.

Configuring the CalDAV Calendar in Evolution

In Evolution I then added a CalDAV calendar with a URL of "caldav://localhost:8080/cosmo/home/andrew/" and added an event. Although I could see the event uploaded, this proved to be the wrong answer, and I needed to point Evolution at the "Scooby" directory:

caldav://localhost:8080/cosmo/home/andrew/Scooby/


Now that I have done that I can happily create events, stop evolution, clear out the calendar cache files, restart evolution and have the event show up. Phew.

Differences between Cosmo and Apple Calendar Server

Clearly Evolution CalDAV is sensitive to some differences between Cosmo and Calendar Server. Sniffing the traffic when I start evolution with an empty cache in both situations there are a couple of differences:

• Cosmo's response to the REPORT query is prettily formatted
• Cosmo's response uses entity names like <D:response> whereas Calendar Server simply returns <response>

My bet would be that it is the last one that is a problem, and that Evolution CalDAV requires the more complex "<D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:"><D:response><D:href>" form rather than the simpler "<multistatus xmlns='DAV:'><response><href>".

All I am left is to wonder which style is correct, and whether this is a bug in Calendar Server or in Evolution-CalDAV.