I'm new at Java for Mac developement and I spent a lot of time finding a way how to create an installer. It's strange but it's not too much information about it. All the ways lead to using of JavaAppLauncher. (I use appbundler-1.0.jar and Ant to build .app) But I faced a following problem.
JavaAppLauncher sets working directory to user folder. My application consists of several jar files, resources and configuration files. All of them located in Contents/Java inside the .app structure. I use relative paths to them, relative to the executable jar with Main class.
I googled 2 discussions only, where someone asked how to set the working directory inside the .app bundle. Threre is a way to sed -Duser.dir JVM option in plist file of .app bundle. I tried this and it behaves strange. When I use "new File(".").getAbsolutePath()" - it shows the directory I pointed in -Duser.dir parameter, but when I try to create file on disk or read file from disk - it still goes to the user folder as it was by default.
May be someone knows what is wrong there?
Or is there any better way to create a java application bundle for Mac?
Thank you, guys.
Use JarSplice to create OS X app bundle. Compile all your jars and resources into one jar file and export as mac .app file.
Deploying Java Applications can be a pain if your application has multiple jars and native libraries. There are the options of using Java Web Start or Java Applets however these are not always suitable.
Executable Jars are an option, however if your project has multiple jars or native files then it can be tricky to use this option.
JarSplice attempts to solve this issue by allowing you to merge all your jars and native files into one, easy to use executable jar file.
Features:
Creates a single executable fat jar via an easy to use GUI.
Automatically extracts only the native files needed for the OS the jar is running on.
Automatically cleans up any extracted native files after the application quits.
Add VM arguments on jar creation which removes the need to enter them via the command line.
Optionally create a Shell Script (.sh) launcher for Linux with embedded fat jar.
Optionally create an OS X App Bundle (.app) for running your application.
Optionally create a Windows Application (*.exe) for running your application.
This is the best cross-platform installer creator i have found yet. You can get the java executable from here
Related
I am working on a Java desktop application and want to execute an .exe file upon some user action.
I want to package the .exe inside the executable jar so that I have to ship just one item to my customer/user. But so far I have not been able to execute an .exe file which is packaged inside the jar.
One more input, the .exe in turn uses a bunch of .dll, .xml and .exe files (total 12 files), so I need to package all of them to make this work. Is this possible in java or should I use another language to achieve this?
I chose java because I want to support Mac platform also. So with these .exe and .dll files (for Win), I need to package and execute a bunch of Unix executable files and dylib files also (for Mac).
What would be the best way to achieve this?
I can think of 2 ways:
Make one Java executable app and dynamically execute exe or Unix executable file depending on platform it is running. The problem here is executing the files which are packaged within the jar.
Make separate applications for Win and Mac. In this case, which languages should I use?
Thanks much for the help!
Applications are packaged very differently on windows and mac. For the Windows version I would recommend you to distribute an installation program (see IzPack for instance) that will unpack the jar and the exe in the application directory (I don't believe you can directly execute an exe that's in a jar file). A MacOS application is actually a directory with a certain structure, so in your case, the said directory could contain both the jar and the exe.
I am building an app on mac osx using javafx maven plugin. This plugin automatically creates the complete JRE inside the Java.runtime folder during the build process. But it doesnt contain the java.exe inside it.
I want to launch a jar within the app but for that I need java executable also inside the app. If I paste the java executable from system java bin folder inside the Java runtime folder of my app , I am able to launch my jar (problem gets resolved) but I am not able to launch this app to the mac app store because the Java executable is code signed with Developer ID Application: Oracle America, Inc. and has a bundle identifier of net.java.openjdk.cmd .This doesnt allow my app to be uploaded on itunes.
Is there any way out , where using javafx maven plugin I also get the java executable inside my app during the build process rahter than copying it from my system java inside my app which has a different code signature.
Instead of trying to implement system-dependent code in Java, it is better to use the facilities that are available in Java for executing a jar in the current JRE. It is possible to create a URLClassLoader https://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/net/URLClassLoader.html which links to your jar (and any dependencies). From there you can use reflection to load your main class from that classloader, and execute it. There is no need to launch a new JRE (At a huge cost in RAM) unless you need to make actual changes to operating system state, such as executing SUID.
See related question if you need to execute jars with privileged operations: Signed applet loads signed jar-files using URLClassLoader with security issue
I have some code in Java using Eclipse and I would like to deploy it to unix envirnment. The program is simple console program that just takes some arguments at the run time, read a file and print out some results.
My question that what is best approach to deploy and run it in unix envirnment. I was just thinking to copy all the classes file to the unix envirnment and create a batch file to run the main class file. Does this sound okay? Or, should I create a runnable jar file?
Also, where should i put the jar files that the prgram is referencing (in classpath)?
Thanks
I think an executable jar file will solve your purpose here.
You should be able to execute it as
java -jar <jarfilename> <arguement1> <arguement2> .... <arguementN>
You can execute the jar file from the current directory itself, just make sure your jar file has executable permissions.
chmod +x <jarfilename>
ls -la
Designing for easy deployment is important in my opinion.
In our case, there are some components:
store project in the source code management system (git). we break down source code as
the developing source code to dev branch
the stable source code to release branch
use build tool, such as ant or maven, and provide a deploy script in the project. (we will talk deploy script in 3.).
provide deploy script to:
fetch the latest stable source code in the build server
build to executable files in the build server (whatever you do)
send the package to the target server
launcher (close the old app and run the new app) in the target server (via remote ssh command)
Currently, you think how to package the java, but it is a simple thing just about building and runing. When you talk about deployment, make it as easy as possible. Each time we deploy just to invoke the release script.
PS. I don't like the executable jar. Using un-packaging jars and compiled class can be sending by rsync very efficiently.
It sounds Ok and will work for you. Just one fix: you are going to write shell script for unix, not batch file.
But you can do better. Typically java classes are packaged into jar file. Jar file is just a zip file with optional META-INF, directory, MANIFEST.MF and other stuff. So it is better to package your application into jar and then run it as: java -cp yourjar.jar YourMainClass.
To create jar file you can use any tool that can create zip or utility jar that is a part of your JDK. You can also create automatic build using ant, maven, gradle, bildr etc that will help you to package your application.
I would do the following:
create a dedicated directory for this program. Copy the dependent .jar files to that directory
write a (short) script that sets the classpath to point to these jars and then executes the main class
Given the above, it's largely a matter of style as to whether you create a runnable .jar or not. It'll be hidden from the user.
I'm suggesting a script because:
you can set regularly used JVM parameters easily (memory options etc.)
it's a pain (and hardly intuitive) to type java -jar {pathtojar} etc.
By copying the jars to a dedicated directory, you can then use different versions of jars for different scripts (e.g. you may have 2 programs that use two different versions of commons-lang)
You should also (probably) use this script to explicitly determine which version of Java you use to run the program with. As you install/upgrade you don't want to break your programs and the scripts can be configured to explicitly tie down this info.
I find this quickest of all:
First, create a jar, copy to unix server and change file permission just as dopplesoldner mentioned below.
You can put your library classes and or jar dependencies in a lib folder
Then execute the jar
java -Djava.ext.dirs=lib/ -classpath yourJar.jar com.yourPackage.yourClass
yourClass will be the class having main(String args[]) method you wanted to execute.
I've created a game project in NetBeans 6.9, and I want to run the project on another computer. The problem is if NetBeans is not installed on the other computer then surely I cannot run the project.
Therefore I have to convert my project into a .exe that can be run on other computers without having to install NetBeans.
Is there a free application that can convert .java to .exe?
Please help me to convert my project into a .exe file. Thanks.
Check out these official netbeans article for Packaging and Deploying Desktop Java Applications and Developing General Java Applications.
From the article
Running the Application Inside of the IDE
When developing applications in the IDE, typically you will need to test and refine them before distributing them. You can easily test an application that you are working on by running the application from the IDE.
To run the AnotherGrep project in the IDE, right-clicking the project's node (AnotherGrep) in the Projects window and choose Run Project.
The xGrep window should open. You can click the Browse button to choose a file in which to search for a text pattern. In the Search Pattern field, type text or a regular expression pattern that you would like to match, and click Search. The results of each match will appear in the xGrep window's Output area.
Information on regular expressions that you can use in this application are available here and in many other places on the World Wide Web.
Running the Application Outside of the IDE
Once you have finished developing the application and before you distribute it, you will probably want to make sure that the application also works outside of the IDE.
You can run the application outside of the IDE by following these steps:
In your system's file manager (for example, in the My Computer window on Windows XP systems), navigate to PROJECT_HOME/dist and double-click the AnotherGrep.jar file.
You will know that the application has started successfully when the xGrep window opens.
If the xGrep window does not open, your system probably does not have a file association between JAR files and the Java Runtime Environment. See Troubleshooting JAR File Associations.
Distributing the Application to Other Users
Now that you have verified that the application works outside of the IDE, you are ready to distribute it.
You can distribute the application by following these steps:
1: Create a zip file that contains the application JAR file (AnotherGrep.jar) and the accompanying lib folder that contains swing-layout-1.0.jar.
2: Send the file to the people who will use the application. Instruct them to unpack the zip file, making sure that the AnotherGrep.jar file and the lib folder are in the same folder.
The users of your application should be able to run it by double-clicking the JAR file. If this does not work for them, show them the information in the Troubleshooting JAR File Associations section.
Also some third party tools like Launch4j may do the trick. For more information see this article on java-to-exe
See Launch4j. I dislike starting java apps with a batch file. This wraps anything from the root jar all the way up to a complete Java environment in an exe. You get your own icon in the system tray rather than the generic coffee cup. I've used it successfully on a project that has about 300,000 downloads, and it's never been the source of a reported bug. NB It does take some careful reading to pick the right options for your project. But you can set it up with the Ant build script in Netbeans to make the .exe automatically. Very nice and clean. My project includes native libraries. They work fine as well.
I think the NSIS will help you . Most of the applications using NSIS. Because it is open source.
Also there is a Eclipse plugin for NSIS to make the process easy.
http://hmne.sourceforge.net/
I have created a java application in eclipse, wich needs comm.jar and jexcel.jar and .property files so i have added to libray. I want to make a jar file out of my java appliction, including the external jar files added to the appliction.
How can I do it? To run serialport programs I have copied win32.dll into java_home/bin and comm.jar into java_home/jre/lib and javax.comm.properties into java_home/jre/lib, but when delivering the product it should run only by needing the jre.
How can I solve this? Please help me.
Thanks in advance,
suma
Although your question is not totally clear I suggest using the Fat Jar Plugin should allow you to achieve what you want.
You can use File > Export > Executable Jar which includes all libraries. There is also a checkbox to generate an ant build file as well as the jar in order to customize it further (I for instance make all the paths relative and remove the main-class flag).
You have two "path" issues. The Java Classpath and the path from which dlls are loaded.
If you were using a Java EE app server or OSGi then controlling these paths is addressed by the respective runtimes. Both Java EE and OSGi are likely to be overkill for small projects.
In which case you are delivering:
Your application JAR
The dependent jars
The DLLs
I suggest that on installing your app you place these artefacts into a suitable directory structure, for example .../myapp/lib for the jars and .../myapp/bin for the dlls. Don't copy them into the infrastructure directories, for example the JRE lib and bin, or into Windows32 - that just leads to version nightmares and mysteries when someone installs a new jre.
Having got that structure, how to control the paths? For the classpath, look at the Manifest.mf file. tutorial
For the DLL path, I know of no good alternative to setting OS level environment variables ** before ** launching the JVM. Hence you need a little batch/shell script to launch your app, setting the PATH appropriately.
You can also check maven.
You can right click on the project and say "Export". Now select "Java" in tree of choices. Under that select "Jar File". It'll guide you through the process and will allow you to export you project as a jar file.
Hope thats what you are looking for.
The recently released Eclipse 3.5 has a Export as runnable Jar which allows to put all dependent jars in a subfolder to the jar file, and get the Manifest right.
It is an adaption of the FatJar plugin. Works nicely!