I have just finished developing a small java application on Netbeans IDE. I am curious as to how I can convert that into an executable program from netbeans. So that there would be a short cut icon which when double clicked loads all classes and runs the main function with all relevant jar files also compiled. i.e. JCalender, JTatto, aswell as sqlitejdbc.jar. all of which are in a directory of the project.
Look into Launch4j, a Java program that can turn your .jar file into a standard Windows Executable .exe file while building all references into that single file.
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I've searched the entire internet on how to convert java program to exe but all I see is "convert .jar to exe". there is no jar file in my program. My program is coded in java in eclipse IDE how do I convert this program to an independent application. an executable file. it has three classes. one of them is a main class. I tried using JSmooth but I had no idea what I was even doing.
Desktop/command line Java programs are compiled into .jar files. You can make a "runnable jar" that will launch your program when the user double-clicks it.
Here's how to create a runnable jar in Eclipse:
http://help.eclipse.org/luna/index.jsp?topic=%2Forg.eclipse.jdt.doc.user%2Ftasks%2Ftasks-37.htm
From the menu bar's File menu, select Export.
Expand the Java node and select Runnable JAR file. Click Next.
In the Opens the Runnable JAR export wizard Runnable JAR File Specification page, select a 'Java Application' launch configuration to use to create a runnable JAR.
In the Export destination field, either type or click Browse to select a location for the JAR file.
Select an appropriate library handling strategy.
As far as converting your compiled Java .jar into a Windows .exe, you might consider using Launch4j.
Jsmooth wraps you jar into an exe, but its old and outdated. I recommend Launch4J, its easy to use and works well.
http://launch4j.sourceforge.net
If you have a small program, you can run jar file and it will work fine. But if you convert jar file into exe, you still need java to run your exe file, so what's the difference between them and why do some people convert jar to exe?
An EXE is, ostensibly, an executable program that launches the local java to execute the bundle classes.
As you may know, on your computer you can associate certain file extensions with local programs. For example, .doc files with your word processor.
Similarly, .jar files can be associated with Java, so that Java can execute them. The jar file is considered "stand alone" if it has all of the necessary classes bundled within it, and a proper manifest pointing to the startup class.
So, by associating .jar with Java, clicking on it in your environment will launch Java with the given jar file.
An EXE doesn't need that association. It find java on its own with it's own launcher.
The next step is that you can actually bundle the JRE in to an EXE, so you don't even need to have the user install Java as a pre-requisite. But that's a different process.
People commonly use Java executable wrappers for two reasons - 1. to simply deployment for environments without a JVM, and 2. To make sure the exact Java runtime used for developing the application gets used to run the JAR. However, the practice is not that much widespread.
Java archive or jar is an archive of compiled java byte code and resources which can be run on a java virtual machine. ".exe" is a windows extension for directly executable code mostly used by installers or programs that do not need to be installed. I think your "people" are talking about installers.
An Exe file is an executable file that can be executed in Microsoft OS environment.
Jar file is container of Java Class files, including other resources related to the project. Jar file can be executed only if Java run time environment.
The JavaTM Archive (JAR) file format enables you to bundle multiple files into a single archive file.
The .class files compiled from java files, can not be launched directly. That is why it is needed to be converted to exe before it can run in a windows environment.The usual way to start a java program by batch file is not a convenient way. So inorder to avoid this difficulty we need to convert jar files into exe file.
Also converting it to exe. enables the program to run by simple double click on the program, instead of having to compile it with an IDE or through the JVM.
All that the exe will do is to start a jvm with your app, something like this: "java -jar app.jar".
I created a tic-tac-toe game in Java. It runs fine on Eclipse.
How do I compile this file (which is currently a .java file) to the standard file format of Java applications, so it can be run from the desktop like a normal program?
What is the standard file type for the final executable Java application? What should be the file type if I want people to easily and without any computer knowledge run my program on their computers?
with eclipse right click on your project. then export it as a runnable .jar file.
Project Right Click > Export > Runnable .jar File.
First choose your project under "Launch configuration", then choose your destination.
After that click finish. Your program should be in your destination folder. Double click to start (just like an .exe file)
For example: If you export it to your desktop, and you name it "TicTacToe", the file on your desktop is "TicTacToe.jar" - ".jar" is your executable file
Done
You have to compile your java class first
javac TicTac.java
and then execute it
java TicTac
Note: that here you provide the name of the class with the main method!
As the other answers indicated, you can create an executable jar using eclipse (or a number of other tools). What these tools are doing under the hood is defining the Main-Class: attribute in the jar's manifest.
In Windows, your users can double click on an executable .jar to launch it, as long as the file associations are configured correctly. However this may not be obvious to windows users who are trained to expect some sort of .exe extension.
To solve this, you could use launch4j to wrap your executable jar in a windows executable. Note: this doesn't change your java application into a native application (it still requires the JVM, etc), it simply makes it launch more like a native application.
For deploying Java desktop apps., the best option is usually to install the app. using Java Web Start. JWS works on Windows, OS X & *nix.
Note that JWS is more effort for us to deploy (it involves not only Jarring and signing the code, but creating a JNLP launch file and a page on the net or network to check that Java is installed & serve the files to the user), but is super easy for the end user.
If there is a JWS deployment, the Jar does not have to be an 'executable Jar' as described in the other answers.
The command should be javac yourFile.java from you command prompt and then after compilation, class file is created. You can run it using java MailClassName
You can find a good tutorial on using javac and java commands here.
I've created a program in java and now I want to create an executable from it.
I'm new to java, I don't know if it should be a .exe.
I'we exported my project to a .jar file, but when I double-click it it opens "open with" window.
I want to export my project to a file that runs my program on double-click.
Is there any solution?
Export --> Java --> Runnable Jar file --> Specify the class with static main method to run.
Double click on the Jar file to run..
Thanks...
Java compiliation creates byte code for the JVM, so a native, binary executable is not created during compiliation (like C or C++ programs). This is a feature of Java.
To deploy an application to multiple systems they must have the JRE. These .jar files can be launched from the command line (see this: http://download.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/deployment/jar/run.html)
Some vendors get around this with batch files that launch the JRE to run their application's JAR (and then put these in the start menu, desktop, etc with a fancy icon).
If you want people to install your app (especially from a web page or over a network) you probably want a Java Web Start package (see this for crating one in Eclipse: http://help.eclipse.org/indigo/index.jsp?topic=%2Forg.eclipse.platform.doc.isv%2Fguide%2Fjava_web_start.htm)
If you just want it to be runnable on your computer, you can use the open with dialog to open it with javaw.exe in JDK_DIRECTORY\bin. Alternatively, if you really wanted to make it an EXE, you could look at some of the answers here.
Either do as in the link mentioned by #dacwe or I would suggest to depending on operating system set a permanent connection between java and jars, then it will always happen.
On Windows you do it by right clicking on any jar then open with and find your javaw.exe in bin folder of your jre installation.
I think you are looking for a simpler approach than Java Web Start.
I assume that you are a Windows User, since you want a .exe file.
So once you have the exported MyProgram.jar file, you only need to create a .bat file
that contains a sole line:
java -jar MyProgram.jar
and place this execute.bat file in the same folder as your MyProgram.jar
This approach works for Linux too, only you need to place it inside a similar file and execute the same command.
Read here http://javabeanz.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/running-an-executable-jar-from-command-line/ for more explanations.
I have written a java program that is actually works as a gui to an existing command line program.
so in basic all my program does is Runtime.getRuntime().exec("myprogram parameter");. So I have exported my java source as a executable-jar file by using Eclipse IDE and it is working nice, however I indeed need to include this myprogram.exe to the directory of the generated jar file inorder to work.
Now I am looking for a way to include myprogram.exe inside the jar file so I can keep it bundled as a single file, a method using using Eclipse would be preferred.
You can simply jar it up as an extra resource (like a .css, .properties etc.).
When your Java program runs, extract the .exe using Class.getResourceAsStream() and write it to a temporary directory in order to run it from there (since you can't run it directly from the .jar file).