CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javacjar
user6538026
user6538026

Reputation:

Steps for installing JRE to users' pc manually

I am currently working on a jar file and I am going to distribute it soon. I was looking forward to distributing it for user without him needing installing JRE to run my app. I am well aware of tools like Jar2Exe but those tools inject some additional content to the executable and I am not going to buy license for that! So I am working on a solution. And I have the idea, So I will create a C file with this content ( I am using C Language power in nativity! ) : 

#include <stdlib.h>

int main() {
    system("java -jar test.jar");
    return 0;
}

And I will put the jar file and the compiled file of the C file above and java.exe located in my JRE installation dir in a same directory and this should work but surely there are a bunch of dlls that java.exe depends on them! A list of those dependencies to put them all in a directory and make the idea work will be very helpful:)

Please Note : I don't want to create an executable from the JAR file, I only want the user need not INSTALL JRE.

EDIT

I realized the above approach isn't practical, so I am going to install JRE behind the scenes ( my only goal is that the user doesn't find out whats going on in the installation process ) I am going to copy required files to ProgramFiles/jre_version but what in addition should I do? In the other words what does the JRE installer do under the hood?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 95

Answers (1)

GhostCat
GhostCat

Reputation: 140457

Why do you think those other companies want you to pay money for their product?

Hint: because it ain't that easy.

The point is that not only need your JAR file. You need to make each and any class that your code will be using available to the JVM you are starting up.

You know, exactly that other stuff that those commercial tools are backing into their EXE files; the stuff that you think makes their EXE files so big and slow. That is the stuff that you need to run your java classes ...

The JRE alone comes with megabytes and megabytes of java classes, packaged up in various JARs. And any 3rd party library that you are using will be required too.

So, of course, when you are able to find all classes that will be loaded when your code is executed, then you could manually package that into a single JAR. But as said: if that would be an easy undertaking, those other people wouldn't have much of a business case. And of course: as soon as reflection and Class.forName() kicks in, you are completely broken. Because you can't predict at all, which classes will be used at runtime then.

Upvotes: 1

Related Questions