I'm thinking of purchesing hosting from a company that has Tomcat/JSP install on their servers (arvixe.com/linux_web_hosting). I wish to know if I need tomcat/jsp in order to compile a .java file on the webserver. What I would like to do is for a visitor to upload a .java file and for the server to compile it into a java webapplet. For example:
Visitor uploads their .java file.
Server compiles the .java into a .class.
Server signs the .class and makes a .jar.
Once done the visitor can download the .jar and use it for personal use.
What would I need in order to do this? I already know how to do it on the computer with Java installed, but I would like to do it on the webhost as well. If I can do this I would like to do it with PHP if possible.
You can compile java directly inside of Java, if you are on 1.6 or higher... here's an article about it:
http://www.javabeat.net/articles/73-the-java-60-compiler-api-1.html
In principle, if the version of Java used by the Tomcat setup is Java 1.6 or later, then you can use the Compiler API to compile Java programmatically. If the server is running Tomcat, then I would really just do it in a Servlet -- I can't quite see the rationale for wanting to shoehorn PHP into the equation if you have a working Tomcat server and you want to compile Java...
However, it sounds like your application is "server functionality heavy" enough that you might want to think about choosing a hosting plan that isn't too restrictive: ideally I'd go for a virtual server with full shell access and allowing you to install whatever you need. If the company is telling you that you can only use a particular version of Tomcat/Java, then that would ring alarm bells for me. (Of course, if they're just saying "install what you like, but if you use this particular version, we will give you additional assistance", then that's another story.)
Related
I am attempting to port an application that was written with a combination of c++ for the back end, and java for the front end. This application relies on the library opencv 2.4.13, which is outdated, as well as multiple other libraries. The concern i have is that i do not want the end user to need to install these dependant programs, as they have been proving challenging to install on any but a select few linux distributions. I believe the term i am looking for is statically linking, but i'm a bit unfamiliar with c++ compilation at the moment, so i am unsure the steps i need to take to make these files portable. The java application requires these files to be libraries, and while i have managed to get them to compile on one machine, the problem seems to be getting them to run on a different one after compilation.
Don't bother - this might also give you licensing problems, depending on what libraries you need.
Instead, just figure out what platforms your application is supposed to run on and package the libraries for each platform with your jar - or download them at startup, or provide them as a separate package. The exact mechanics you choose depend on your use case, the point is you don't need to rely on system wide installs.
By using the JRE or some other runtime environment, is it possible to compile Java code on a web server such as Apache or Nginx?
Specifically, I would like to have a web application that would accept user input (Java code), and when the user hits run, it would compile the Java into Java Byte code and display the result, like Eclipse does.
Does this sort of technology even exist?
Does this defy the logic of compiled languages?
Thank you for your time in advance.
Amicably,
James
The server running Apache would also need a JDK. You could easily write the input to a file, compile it, run it, and display the results to the user. This could be done with a CGI script, or a Java EE app or similar, running in Tomcat. A JDK will be required, a JRE will not suffice.
Consider the potential security risk with this, though. Depending on what the program actually does, it could result in problems on your machine or others.
Of course this is possible. But you need a JDK, and some server side scripts (PHP, Ruby, Python, Java ...) which takes the source code as input and calls the Java compiler to compile the code.
What you have to consider are the security implications. Every user could then upload code, which would be executed on the server. So you have to make sure, that the code runs in a sandbox.
There are several websites that do this. One that I've used is at http://www.ideone.com.
You can reproduce this with the JDK and various scripts or you can write your own compiler from scratch. Either way, you need a compiler of some kind to actually compile the code.
I have read a bit about cloud and browser based IDE's.
I am planning to make a Java based bare bones IDE by integrating a compiler to code in the cloud. This is for educational purpose as I am just determined to learn to develop cloud based IDE.
I want it to be something like eclipse Orion but i want it to allow for coding in java. It should allow users to code, compile and run java programs by directly writing .java files and not by converting the .js files into java files.
Can someone please suggest me an existing cloud that I should use for this. And also, I am just a beginner and I have no clue about how to proceed and the articles that I am required to read.
Please do let me know what I should begin with and the cloud that suits my needs the best.
Thank you very much in advance.
You should look at projects like Mozilla SkyWriter, which implement the bare bones editing functionality
(There have been a lot of change lately. There seems to have been migrated to Ace)
You can use Codenvy and put your code on a Git repository. Then, you could build automatically once you have done the push using a CI tool like Jenkins. Now, I have an environment in which I use a Jenkins instance as a Service and also a runtime environment so I can get a continuous deployment pipeline. This video will show you, in a graphical way, what I am talking about.
Koding provides you with a full Ubuntu machine, with root, so it's able to run and do what you want, programming wise.
The reason i'm suggesting Koding though, is that they have a Framework to develop your IDE for the Koding VMs themselves.
The logic here, is that making IDEs is challenging, but the biggest challenges is ensuring security between your IDE users. Using another VM platform would mean that you don't have to manage the security of your VM, and focus entirely on your IDE.
Let me know what you think :)
For virtual/cloud hosting try one of the following:
Rackspace
VPS Farm
I like vpsfarm because it is cheap and pretty bare bones.
For the IDE itself, I would first create a webapp that can upload and compile and run arbitrary java code, without adding libraries or J2EE. That alone will be a good undertaking for one dev.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am a very competent programmer, but when I program, I typically develop things for the web using scripting languages like JavaScript, PHP, Python, SQL, etc. If I want to develop Java software (I am relatively experienced in Java), how do I distribute it?
Is there any good way to package up Java software in a nice little executable, send it out, and have it run? Alternatively, is there any good way to package up Java in some sort of installer, and send it out to be installed and run?
I'm using Launch4J http://launch4j.sourceforge.net/ it will generate an .exe executable for Windows, if the targeted system don't have JVM, it will tell user to download and get JVM.
You can package Java applications in so called jar-files using the jar tool or any competent Java IDE. These jar-files are self-contained and seldom need any installer.
These .jar files can easily be distributed and executed.
If you're used to web-development, you may also be interested in the Java Webstart technology.
Some links to get you started.
Export to a .jar-file in Eclipse
Lesson: Java Webstart
I have found two approaches to work well, depending on the needs of the end user.
1) Java WebStart - allows for central distribution and easy maintenance, but works best for online users. Require you to have a web site to locate the files - these days this is easy to do on the Google Application Engine.
2) Wrapping up the Java program in a single jar using one-jar, and then using jsmooth to generate an .EXE file which ensures Java is available, extracts the jar-file and invokes Java on it. This works well for users not always on the net, where you want the launch process to be transparent, but is less easy to upgrade than the webstart approach.
I use Maven to handle all the dependencies of my projects and that way when you utilise Maven to build your projects they will compile into one nice executable jar that contains everything so you dont need to worry about getting all your third-party jars in the right place etc.
There are a couple of ways: one is to create an installer that allows your user to install and run it. For this you can take a look at NSIS.... or you can just use Java Web Start where your user can just click the link and launch your application.
Here you will find a large set of options: Open Source Installers Generators in JavaIt is very useful for the "naive" customer or user of your application, to make the installation process as painless as possible. Let them install whatever is needed, DBMS, JVM, JMF and additional options via one installer.
You can also consider use one of the rich client platforms available for Java. The learning curve is probably a lot higher than just creating a jar file and ship it, but you will get a lot for free when it comes to distribution. (Think Eclipse with auto update through an update site).
Do a search for "Eclipse RCP" and "Netbeans RCP" and you'll find the two biggest contenders here. I also performed a serach for "eclipse RCP installer" and one of the hits seems interesting:
http://download.instantiations.com/RCPPackagerDoc/integration/latest/docs/html/gettingstarted/GenInstaller.html
I personally like izpack. It generates a jar file installer that you could wrap up in launch4j, supports things like windows specific shortcuts, is highly customisable through XML and hooks directly into ant.
OneJar is great for smaller stuff, but for larger programs or applications it's nowhere near as flexible and in my experience is rather slow.
Hello you can make an installer for your application.
In the link below you will find a nice help about izpack installer.
http://www.imrantariq.com/blog/?p=89
Link below contains a detailed pdf to make installer with izpack.
http://www.imrantariq.com/blog/?attachment_id=112
cheers
I would like to know if there is any way that I could build a very simple GUI app (it doesn't even have to look good) that will run on a fresh install of Windows Vista and OS X with no other installations needed by the user. I would perfer not to use Java (just out of personal programming preference). I will use it though, if it is the only way. Specically, I am wondering if I can write a swing app with Scala or Groovy and run in on windows without them having to install anything. Sorry if this is a silly question, I am a Obj-C developer by trade.
You can pack the Scala jars into your own, which should work as long as Java is installed (which it usually is on a 3rd party vendor install of Vista or OS X). If you use Java web start, no installations are needed beyond Java itself. Plus, if you're going to install your own code, why not just copy along the Scala jars also?
If you really mean a fresh install--nothing but what the OS provides--then no, I don't think so.
Edit: You do always have javascript on the browser(s). I assume this won't cut it for what you want?
If you really, really don't want to install anything (or carry anything in your app), then write the application as a web app (possibly a javascript app). Then any user can run that UI from any machine with a decent browser. But then, this will require that you host the app somewhere.
If that is not an option, you can develop your app to as a single html/xhtml file containing a self-contained, self-modifiable javascript application (like TiddlyWiki which I use a lot). Then the user user can download on it on his machine, point his browser to it and voila.
If you combine javascript with HTML5 (and assuming the user has a HTML5 compliant browser like safari), your application can use localStorage to keep its state in the user's machine (thus no longer needing to be self-modifiable to save state as TiddlyWiki does.)
But this would break your rule of not downloading anything on the user's host machine. It is a chicken-and-egg problem that has no solution since each OS implements its own set of application libraries. For multi-platform support, you must use a layer that abstracts out differences between operating systems, be it a vm (like JVM, Ruby or Mono) or a set of libraries (Qt, Gnome).
As far as i know you won't be able to accomplish that with no other installations needed by the user. If you violate this restriction, mono (with gtk#) is a good choice.
Scala and Groovy will have the same deployment issues as Java; all of these require a JVM to be installed. You generally have to first install the JVM (which is not included with Windows) and then install your program. Java is included in OS X, however.
It is possible to use Ruby or Python and one of the cross platform libraries (like wxWidgets) and compile these to an executable file that includes the entire set of runtime libraries (e.g. all of ruby and python).
REAL Studio (formally REALbasic) certainly meets this requirement. It creates native applications that have no external dependencies for OS X and Windows (plus Linux).
In theory you could write a .net application using Mono that it should run without issues on any other one with the .net runtime environment installed.
But I'm not sure if it will work on practice.
I've had some success with XulRunner
There's also a couple of recommendations from these questions I asked
Building Cross Platform app - recommendation
Building XUL app a-la SongBird
XULRunner is pretty cool once you get into it, but it's a tad confusing at first (I thought).. the folks on the mozilla google groups are really nice and helpful though!