Now, if you'd like get your hands on Compiere, the obvious next step is to check out its Installation Guidelines on Compiere's web site. Beware of a few basic requirements though:
1. Choose a database to install, you can either choose Oracle (Standard, Oracle XE) or Enterprise DB, all of them have/are free versions, just follow the general directions from Compiere's page.
2. You must have Java SDK version 5 or later installed in your server ('server' can be a Windows XP machine too for testing purposes, however you must have a loopback adapter installed!
3. If you intend to perform production server installation for a multiuser environment you must set your DNS service accordingly, or else at least your box must have a fixed IP address.
4. As Compiere is a fully tested multi-platform solution it runs hansomely on LinuxOS, it is a bit trickier to install but it's worth it! If you'd like to try it out, this link may be very helpful.
And please, do get a soft copy of Compiere User's Manual from the web store its only USD $50 for a one time download and USD$ 120 for a one year suscription (you'll be able to download further updates with this one)
What is Compiere?
Compiere is a software product developed by Jorg Janke CTO and founder of parent company Compiere,Inc. It's an ERP solution delivered under GPL Open Source license, so anyone can access its code and modify it to customize it according to your specific user requirements. This feature, plus the fact that it is based on a model driven architecture, converts Compiere into a framework rather than a simple program that almost any organization can leverage to deploy their core business processes so that they become efficient, real time process oriented enterprises.