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Distributing small Java applications (i.e. convert to EXE)
By admin | April 30, 2011
Many times it can be said that it is not very friendly getting a .class file to run. Here is a better way to get them to run – it involves first converting it to an executable .jar and then optionally converting to an executable file on Windows.
Prerequisites:
- Java compiler and JRE
- It is recommended to do this procedure in a separate folder to avoid contamination and interference from other files.
Procedure:
- Compile Java code to generate hello.class (assuming hello.java in this article, replace hello with your application’s name):
javac hello.java
- Add meta file – create file called hello.mf with the following contents (replace hello with your .java name):
Main-Class: hello
Optionally, add the following line if your application depends on other jar files:
Class-Path: (list of jar files here)
- Make an executable jar:
jar cvfm *.jar hello.mf *.class
- At this point you have an executable jar which you can run with any JRE like so:
java -jar hello.jar
. But if you want to generate an EXE for Windows, continue to follow these instructions:
- Download and run Launch4J.
- Set “jar” to hello.jar in the directory where it can be found.
- Set “output file” to hello.exe in the same directory as hello.jar.
- (Optional) Add icon by selecting icon.
- Under “Header” tab, set GUI if your Java application is GUI, otherwise select console.
- (Optional) Under “Single instance” tab, select “Allow only a single instance” if you wish to only allow one copy of your application open at the same time. Type in a random combination of letters and numbers in “mutex name” and type in your application name under “Window title”.
- Set a minimum JRE version under the “JRE” tab (such as 1.3.1).
- Save your configuration if you want to, then click the build icon at the top to build your application.
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Topics: Linux | 14 Comments »
October 9th, 2012 at 02:04
hey,
that is clearly explained.But i have a problem
hope you can help.
when i run ” java -jar *.jar”
it says “no main manifest attribute, in *.jar”
and its a standalone applet program i have converted that to application by adding main method in another class and calling it..
and to create jar
here s command i used
“jar -cvfm manifest.mf.txt *.class *.class *.txt”
i don’t know what is the prob..
if you know d solution or if you know the cause of this problem mail me.!!
October 13th, 2012 at 18:09
@tom:
I think that the jar cvfm command has to be run like so:
jar cvfm.jar .mf .class
Also if you’re using Windows, turn off the hiding of file extensions in Explorer. The manifest file has to actually end in .mf, not .mf.txt.
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