Making an executable with most Java code, but maybe another language added in

Question

I have been looking everywhere, and being a novice at Java and lacking proper terminology it seems impossible to find this. I assume the correct term is "wrapping", but looking at other Java applications, such as: Minecraft, and seeing how pretty the launcher is and custom buttons, it seems impossible to accomplish such a feat with JFrame. Do they code their own sort of frame? I've heard that you can "wrap" Java code in like C++ to make the launcher, and after passing the screen is launches the game (minecraft.jar). Also, how is the exe file created? That once it is run it checks for a patch from the server, that installs the necessary files in a given directory and checks there for save files? Is it another language? if so which? Which do You recommend? A resource for learning all of this? These are the main aspects that I've been struggling to learn as no one seems to ask a similar question as I.

Also, considering Java is cross-platform, my main targets are Windows > Mac, for now I can't be bothered to worry about Linux considering I'm already struggling so much here; so for now, how to create a Exe file, if need be, in C++ or any other language, then perhaps DMG for Mac.

Answer 1

You have a lot of things to consider. I would suggest that for now you use Java WebStart to launch your application. This gives you things like:

• Easy distribution - put files on a web server somewhere and a JNLP file describing how to glue your files together.
• No messing with EXE-wrappers and multiple distributions - this is in the standard Java installation.
• Easy updates - just create a new set of files (don't update jars in place) and a new JNLP and thats it.
• A sandbox without any effort. Full access to the machine needs code signing which these days is a moving target. Sandbox should be enough for quite a bit though.

Then when you find you have enough users to warrant platform-specific distributions, you can add these as needed instead of getting everything working up front, where you should be concentrating on your application instead.

Answer 2

If you do not want to go the JNLP route, there a number of tools which can do what you ask for.. my favorite is launch4j, which is easy to use via the launch4j-maven-plugin, see e.g. this launch4j-demo illustrating how to use it.

PS: Alternatives include http://sourceforge.net/projects/jsmooth/ or http://www.ej-technologies.com/products/exe4j/overview.html (.com). Note that similar Qs to this with more have been asked on How can I convert my Java program to an .exe file?, How Can I convert Java To Exe, Best free tool to build an exe from Java code?