I am working on a Java program that has bunch of classes consisting of dialog boxes, JFrames, etc.
Can someone guide me where I can learn how to transform it to an 'applet' kind of. ( I don't even know if applet is the right word)
Like for example, can it be accessible through the internet browser. If I somehow make a domain www.myjavaprogram2011.com it would be nice if it will take it straight to the java program I coded. I see this as anyone can come to this website and use that program.
Thanks!
You may want to look into Jars for distribution or probably more aptly Java Web Start as this allows Clients to be downloaded and run.
Java Applets isn't your best bet as there's lots of security permissions that you need to worry about as well as your jars needs to be signed (especially for client/server data access).
Try using Java Web Start, it will allow you to launch fully-featured application from the Web Browser. Oracle has tutorials on deployment of JWS, etc.
Sounds you're looking for some kind of RIA technology. Have a look at JavaFX, though it's not mature yet IMHO.
Ah, but then, if you already have a Swing application then this isn't an option probably.
Related
I have a complete and pure Java project (GUI game) which I want to run it on my website.
What is the best to do without creating the whole java project from scratch or is there any technologies I can use to embedded my java project on my website.
I know it became more difficult to do this as most broswer do not support java anymore. I know there is a way to do using Java Web Application using Apache Tomcat, but I do not want to do route. I am trying to find more easier and better to solution to this
Thank you
Unfortunately, It is quite possible that you need to rewrite some parts of your application. Mainly because it is a different language (I assume SWING, AWT, or another Java-based library, but you could tell more about your project and used libraries).
There is usually two parts of a game/application (super simplified):
backend,
frontend,
I am quite sure you can use most of your backend code. But the frontend probably needs to be rewritten. It is even better if you loosely coupled those two parts meaning there is no code in the backend for the frontend because you will have a harder time now breaking it down.
For example, you could check Vaadin and see what you could use from there to refactor your GUI application to be work on a plain browser.
Vaadin basically lets you write only or MOSTLY Java code and still create a website, webpage.
Good luck!
p.s: Next time I recommend you (if you wanna publish it to a different platform) a cross-platform language, you write once and you can run it publish it on multiple platforms.
I have an application that runs under Java/JNLP applet and I would like to migrate to Java 11.
As you know the applets and JNLP will disappear from Java 11.
The goal is to keep my old code and remove the packages that contain the applets, is it possible to do this migration without switching to a new technology?
Finally, I chose Swing with Getdown which resembles JNLP.
A migration to a JEE/Spring solution would have completely modified the operation of my application and still take a lot of time. Tip: try it for yourself Getdown.
Yes and No.
Yes you can keep your java business logic and data handling code (presumed you did a clean separation of your application layers). E.g. just convert to a standalone java app and you're fine.
No, if you look for something to run in the webbrowser then you have to migrate to JavaScript/HTML/JSF/GWT... on the frontend and your java code running on the backend (JEE or Servlets ...).
Regarding the "No", it depends on what kind of application you have. A web application or a standalone application?
(1) For a web application you have to recreate the front end part (UI, communication with the server) but you can reuse parts of your logic.
(2) For a standalone application (using Swing/AWT/JavaFX ...) you can keep your code, just create a standalone app out of it. For distribution e.g. JavaFX offers an application packaging mechanism.
PS: The quickest way could be the conversion to the webstart technology however it was also deprecated and will be also be removed in future. So I would not use it.
One solution might be the WebStart replacement that Karakun is currently working on: https://dev.karakun.com/webstart/
Currently it is not clear when and how this will come since it is based on a kind of crowd-founding but since everyone can get involved (even with low cost) this is a very good possibility.
After five and a half years full-time work on a product ranking engine project, which revolves around a 64,839 line applet, the browser companies have seen fit to dump applets.
At this point I am in no position to convert the applet to another language (unless I get a huge injection of funds to hire a team of programmers). My partner is not going to support me for another two years.
I know the questions are rather vague and I should be keeping up with the latest tech, however I've had chronic earaches for 14 years that affect memory and concentration, so programming is difficult enough without trying to keep up with the latest developments in software as well. The reason I am asking for advice is that I don't want to make another monumental screw up.
Question 1: My understanding is that Java Web Start launches the application, but it then cannot communicate back to the JSF web page any more (JSF2.0). Is there any way of getting around this?
Question 2: Can anyone suggest any other options other than re-coding the whole thing?
Question 3: Is it likely that applets will be altered to use the latest plugin format or are they gone for good? Does anyone have any inside information on this?
Overview of the applet's requirements:
The applet allows a user to customise some or all of the product ranking criteria, which has been preset by a panel of knowledgeable experts, to their own particular needs. The criteria is stored and edited via graphs (custom painted jPanels).
The ranking criteria can be altered entirely using the mouse (to change the graph shapes), though some values can be entered using the keyboard if the user wishes. Once customised, the applet is then used to submit the changes to the ranking engine server.
It is also used to allow third party experts to alter the ranking criteria to create their own product usage category ranking criteria. The third party expert can then place links on their own web site that will allow users to rank products using the third party expert's own ranking criteria. This allows anyone to create their own ranking criteria for use by others.
The applet uses a plugin bean that is also used in a standalone Java editor application, which is used to create a product usage ranking criteria file from scratch (the editor is 77,710 lines of code, though 61,257 lines of that is the plugin which is also used in the applet). This means most likely having to convert the editor as well, as the two are inextricably linked. The plugin basically is the applet and also the editor.
The plugin can capture, edit and store ranking criteria for virtually anything the human brain can rank. Thanks to the graphs, it can use any attribute that the brain uses, and for which we have no formal system of measurement; hence why the applet is so damn big.
Your question is probably too broad for Stack Overflow, but I'll give a brief response.
Java Web Start
Java Web Start is probably the best route for you. This technology is basically a convenient way for a user to obtain, install, and run a Java desktop app. The web browser is only used to initially download a small XML file describing your app and where to get the app. The Java Network Launching Protocol (JNLP) defines these pieces of information stored in that XML file. Your app will be downloaded from a server, and saved to the local machine. A Java Runtime Environment (JRE) can be downloaded and installed if need be as part of the process.
By default the app runs within a security sandbox similar to Java Applets. But you can sign your app and define security protocols to break out of some of those restrictions including making network connections.
The bulk of your programming would remain intact. The app is still pure Java, running in a JVM. You would need to do a bit of reprogramming to be a desktop app rather than packaged as an Applet. And you would have to learn about easing those sandbox restrictions. And your app will have a menu bar of its own as a full-fledged app, so you may want to take advantage of that. But the guts of your app would remain the same.
Over the years, Sun & Oracle have put efforts into improving Java Web Start. Unfortunately it came too late after Java-on-the-desktop had lost too much mind-share. And Swing never got the overhaul it so desperately needed. So Java Web Start never went big-time. But Java Web Start does work as advertised, so give it a try.
While there were some security issues years ago, I believe they have been resolved long ago. The many infamous security problems with Java were largely involving the web browser plugins bridging between browsers and the Java JRE; those problems do not affect Java Web Start (though you should do your own research to confirm).
For the general public, Java Web Start may be too much to ask of new, anonymous, and less-motivated users. For a commercial product with a user-base of eager customers, it may the perfect solution for you. I suggest you do some more study, read the Wikipedia page, study the Oracle technology page, look at the Tutorial, read this overview by John Zukowski that includes an example of network (making socket connection to time.nist.gov), and so on.
Vaadin
The Vaadin framework is an open-source free-of-cost professional user-interface development framework that uses pure Java to run your app on a server in a Java Servlet web container while automatically generating a user-interface using standard web technologies (HTTP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, GWT, WebSocket, etc.) for presentation within a regular web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, IE, Edge, etc.). As a graybeard, I think of Vaadin as an X Window System for the new millennium: The user interacts with screen widgets on their local computer but the business logic of the app is executing on the server, and the server is updating the remote UI as a result of that business logic executing.
Vaadin is not yet-another-web-templating system. Instead, your app is written in pure Java. No need for you to learn the alphabet-soup of web technologies listed above. Vaadin takes care of that for you, auto-magically. You say in Java “I want a label, then a field, and a button” and Vaadin makes those appear in the web browser.
Using Vaadin would allow you to retain your Java code for the business logic part. But you would need to re-write the user-interface parts to use Vaadin widgets instead of Swing widgets. This would not be so terribly difficult as Vaadin was inspired by the general style of Swing, defining layouts governed by layout managers in which you place your various widgets (fields, labels, buttons, etc.).
Vaadin can make very professional business-oriented apps that feel almost like desktop business apps. Tip: I prefer the Reindeer theme for business apps over the newer Valo theme.
But you mentioned some kind of free-form drawing canvas in your Swing applet. That may be a sticking point. I do not know of such a widget for use within a Vaadin app. I am not saying there is no such thing, I just do not know of any. There are slider widgets that may useful, but I don't clearly understand your needs in that regard.
I have a question about how to manipulate files from the browser, currently we are using a java applet. To create some folders, replace/delete save some files/folders and execute a shell command with parameters. As we know Chrome no longer supports the npapi and therefor java applets, FireFox will soon follow and my guess is that IE will not stay behind forever.
So the actual question is what's the best way to go?
Should we think about creating plugins (but this then should be done for all major browsers - a lot of work)
Or do you recommend to install an external program, what we can launch on the users system? By for instance associating a specific extension, or by adding a url scheme?
What about this Java Web Start? Does this allow us to communicate with the domino api?
Any other technologies that would be better?
The website we are building is using IBM Domino 9.0.1 XPages (JSF).
Answering to your use case: content management system.
For adding files the HTML5 files API should do all you need. There are plenty of examples including multi file uploads.
It gets trickier when you want to provide a round-trip edit experience. Like you click something and Word, Excel, Impress, Photoshop opens and you edit. When you save it all goes back to Domino.
The solution here is wevDAV. You can even expose Domino views as folders in Explorer / Finder / Nautilus.
For Domino there is a project on OpenNTF that implements WebDAV for documents/attachments on Domino (I wrote it). It might be your best bet.
I think we should be making a distinction here:
things like file access can be done using HTML5 file access, but
things like local administration definitely aren't something that need or should be done from within the browser.
In fact, I always hated that Java suggested that users "need not install any software" to do this and that on their machine, which was a straight lie, considering they downloaded Java Software, had to tell their Java Policy framework to trust that and then that software was able to make local changes. That's just as unsecure as downloading any (signed) executable and making your user execute it.
Java's portability¹ doesn't apply to your use case, as it seems; "executing a shell command" sounds as non-portable as it gets. So, in the end, you either only have one platform you address, or one solution for every platform, in which case you gain no portability by the fact that the same Java executable can run on all JREs (given that's the case, even).
I'd say: It's a good time to let Java for Desktops die, especially since you don't seem to be doing anything that Java is good at² in your application.
As it sounds, the average installer framework can do what you want without you writing any code. There's plenty out there, especially for Windows, which you seem to be addressing; take microsoft's .MSI as an example. You'd end up with a two click, signable, trustable, updateable solution that wouldn't need the user to keep a JRE installed or secure at all.
CLARIFICATION: I really don't hate Java; I don't find it's the greatest language or has the best ecosystem, but whatever makes your application work is fine.
Now, you mention:
To be clear, we are creating a Document Managing System, which used to be on the Lotus Notes client and that we are trying to port to the Web.
That does in fact sound like it might be a good idea to chose any browser and embed that. In fact, Firefox is "merely" an application around a browser core, and you might just modify it (e.g. by writing an extension) to fit your needs. It's not really a "web application", that way, but it would meet your requirements of integration with a web application and local administrative access. I furthermore recommend thinking twice about the shell scripts you need to run locally -- maybe their job can be more easily replaced by another program or even something that is "web compatible" than calling them with local privileges from your web application.
¹ (which was a big thing back in the day, but honestly, Java applications nowadays are about as portable as your average .Net or Qt based application on desktop OSes, but never quite feel completely like home -- it's like portabilities ugly sister if you're portable, but only offer the minimal common subset of functionality and look and feel on each platform)
² ... whatever that might be!
How do you take a java library that is for the desktop or an applet and make it so you can use its functions for a web page? I know not all things are meant for the web, but can you call a "regular" java class in an apache/tomcat setup server and it "work"? Do you have to so something to it to get it work with a web page?
I was interested in jgrapht for the web but it looks like all desktop or applet and I don't know that it would be possible to return its graphics to the browser, but maybe its libraries and a generated .png rendered by the browser.
Although there is debate on applets being alive or dead, I am not interested in using one at the moment, as it appears it is dead, albeit with new possible life in the latest update 6u10. I don't know that I want to invest in JavaFX either.
Johnny, the thing is that you have to decide what you mean to do. You could, for example, use JGraphT in server side code; the graph could be visualized in a bunch of different ways, like JGaph or graphviz. Then you would output the visualization in some form that works on the web and put it into your web page. In JGraph, that probably means a print interface that generates SVG or PNG.
Or you could emit the graph structure as JSON with a simple walk of the graph and interpret it on the fly in the browser using Javascript.
It's hard to answer the question generally, because it strongly depends on how you mean to use it.
Yes, it is possible to use a java class or jar file in a web appliaction, but it also depends on what you want to do with it.
For example if the library is for mathematics and you want to return results back to the users on a web based application, this is definitely possible. There are many other examples I can give but they are all the same.
As for displaying charts, I have successfully used JFreeChart in a web application using Apache Wicket (which rocks btw).
So to answer your question, you don't really need to "port" the library, you just need to use it and display it's output to a web page instead of a java desktop GUI.
Of course their might be some libraries that are specifically designed for Java GUI stuff like Swing or AWT. But for the most part there is no difference in using a Java library in a J2EE environment or a J2SE environment.
There isn't a closed-form answer to what you are suggesting: porting a Java Library to a browser's environment and using its functionality.
If you are interested in graphing things, here are a few things you can try:
Open Flash Chart - a scriptable flash app that will produce graphs
Bluff - a Javascript library that produces graphs
processing.js - a port of the excelling 'processing' library to Javascript
As for accessing Java-based functionality in the browser, there are some approaches for that. One is to use a toolset like GWT that complies java into an HTML/Javascript/Java application. Another is to use an AJAX-based technology like Direct Web Remoting. It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish.