I am working on a java application, my requirement is to provide online product update services to application. What should I do?
Take a look at Java Web Start - the software gets updated automatically, and that's handled by the web start client. You just have to provide the update.
With Java Web Start, you launch applications simply by clicking on a Web page link. If the application is not present on your computer, Java Web Start automatically downloads all necessary files. It then caches the files on your computer so the application is always ready to be relaunched anytime you want—either from an icon on your desktop or from the browser link. And no matter which method you use to launch the application, the most current version of the application is always presented to you.
Related
I have created a Swing application in Netbeans that is basically a chat system (between multiple clients and server using socket programming).
Now I wanted to run this application on a webpage. Is this possible without changing any code?
Now I wanted to run this application on a webpage. Is this possible without changing any code?
No. It would have to be a JApplet to be embedded in a web page, and applets have been effectively killed off. See Java Plugin support deprecated and Moving to a Plugin-Free Web.
On the other hand, a desktop application (based on a JFrame) can be launched from a link on a web page using Java Web Start.
Edit
Scrap that advice regarding JWS, apparently it too is being deprecated as of Java 9.
In my web application I need to launch a Windows application installed on client machine when a button in the page is clicked.
I know there are security policies in browsers that avoid this by default, but I also know application that do this. An example could be online meeting, web conferencing applications like WebEx or GoToMeeting.
How they do that?
I'm working with Java, so I'm wondering if Java Applets are an option to achieve this.
Is there some other well known way to solve this issue?
NOTE application execution MUST be allowed by user
The best way to deploy a Java desktop application is using Java Web Start.
And forget applets. Soon Chrome won't be able to load them (along with a number of other plug-ins) at all.
you can achieve it with applet. but user must allow to run it. it is hard to run some extern application from button or link because this is potentially danger behaviour. Remember the applet can not get access to the files on user computer and other servers (unless it is digitally signed)
I have created a Java application which needs to run as a service. For service wrapper I tried using tanuki and other wrapper softwares.
Now, my application does run as a service - however, it runs as a service under SYSTEM and not under currently logged in user.
My application has a UI, which does not show when the application is running as a service. I doubt that this has happened because the service is running under SYSTEM and not under currently logged in user.
When I run the application (without installing it as a service), the UI does show up and I could see the java process running under the current user's id, whereas it runs under SYSTEM when installed as a service.
Now, there is nothing to my application if there is no UI. I need to application to run as a service when the system boots up and the UI needs to show up as well.
Has anyone tried to do what I am doing here and has faced a similar issue. If so, how did you go about resolving it?
Is there a different wrapper service that I could use and not have this issue.
Tanuki's documentation does explain setting a java application as a service, but does not talk about a java applicaiton with a UI and running it under the currently logged in user.
Update
Just so that folks here could get a bit more idea as to what is it that I am trying to accomplish - the behavior that I am trying to have with my app is similar to how Dropbox or Yahoo Messenger or any other software has which starts with Windows boot and continues to run in the background, allowing the users to interact with it using the system tray icon. So basically all of this has been built in Java/Swing. Now when it has come to deployment of the app - I can run it standalone but running the jar file or by creating and running an executable wrapper for it. However, I want the software to start with Windows boot and continue to run as a service in the background, while allowing the user to make changes and interact with it via lets say bringing up the UI from a system tray icon that it sets.
As of now, it does run as a service successfully. It performs all the actions that it ideally should - there just is no system tray icon to bring up the UI and make changes to its configuration.
Update - 2
Ok.. I tried advanced installer and it does wrap up everything for me to generate an exe installer for windows. Now all I need is to auto-start the software. Can anyone help me with this? I don't see an option in Advanced installer to automatically have the program add itself up in the auto-start.
Link to tanuki's doc http://wrapper.tanukisoftware.com/doc/english/faq.html
Rohan,
Please take a look at the following page:
http://wrapper.tanukisoftware.com/doc/english/prop-ntservice-interactive.html
You will need to mark the Service as interactive and then run as the SYSTEM user in order to get your GUI to show up on the first logged in desktop.
The problem is that Microsoft changed what services are allowed to do starting with Windows 2008 and Vista. This means that starting with these versions, the GUI will always show up on a sandboxed desktop which the user will need to switch over to.
If you want to show a GUI on all desktops, in all versions of Windows, you will need to run the JVM within the desktop.
Cheers,
Leif
I wanted to comment on your question, but I don't have enough reputation to do it. So I'm misusing the answer function now.
I have a similar problem. I used the tanuki wrapper for a while now on a Windows XP machine and the Swing GUI was shown to all users who logged in.
Now I migrated to Windows 2008 Server and configured the current version of the tanuki wrapper like this:
wrapper.ntservice.interactive=true
wrapper.ntservice.hide_console=true
(see documentation here and here)
The Windows service runs under the LOCAL SYSTEM account.
But the GUI is still not shown. Did you find any solution to the problem?
Don't think you should have a UI with a service. Put it in the startup group instead ?
What's does the UI and application do?
How can I execute a desktop application from a browser?. I have a web page with a button, when user click this button a simple java desktop application must run. How can I do this using jsp or javascript?
Java Web Start might be your solution.
To start a Java Web Start application, you simply direct the browser to the location of the JNLP file. Basically, the browser detects that instead of simply downloading the file, it should run it in Web Start.
Most major browsers support Java Web Start. Java Web Start is cross platform (works on Mac and PC).
So, in Javascript, it's done simply like this:
window.location = "http://www.examples.com/myapp.jnlp";
You'll also need to sign your Java application, or the user will get a nasty warning.
You should take a look at the Java Web Start technology.
This would be the closest thing: Java Web Start
Managing this through Applets is another option though the underlying scheme is the same, the user needs to accept the generated certificate.
I was reading about java web start from wiki. Can someone please tell me
What is it used for?
A practical application of it; to make its use clearer.
Do other languages like C++ / C# have
anything similar?
Thanks,
Roger
Java Web Start is kind of like a successor to applets - it allows Java programs to be run from your browser (though unlike applets, they don't run within the browser). For a practical example, see the TopCoder Arena.
http://www.topcoder.com/contest/arena/ContestAppletProd.jnlp
Here, Java Network Launching Protocol (JNLP) is the protocol that defines how a Web Start application should be run (analogous to HTML telling a browser how a page should be rendered).
See the Oracle tutorials:
Lesson: Web Start
Deploying a Java Web Start Application
Java Network Launch Protocol
Java Web Start software provides the
power to launch full-featured
applications with a single click.
Users can download and launch
applications, such as a complete
spreadsheet program or an Internet
chat client, without going through
lengthy installation procedures.
With Java Web Start software, users
can launch a Java application by
clicking a link in a web page. The
link points to a Java Network Launch
Protocol (JNLP) file, which instructs
Java Web Start software to download,
cache, and run the application.
I'm quoting the Java Tutorial lesson on WebStart
For those of you who work with .Net something like Java Webstart is ClickOnce technology.
Java Web Start is used to write sandboxed desktop applications similar to Java Applets. Like applets they can be launched from a web browser, but they run in their own window - not inside the browser.
It runs just like a normal application, but started from clicking a web page instead of having to download and run an installer. An advantage is that it's very easy to get people who are afraid of all the security warnings to try your application. Another advantage is that you don't need to keep the browser open while you run your application. You can even install a shortcut to your application onto the user's desktop so they don't need to touch the browser at all once they have run it the first time.
The .NET equivalent is Click Once.
What is it used for?
To roll out and keep updated an application to clients. Clients need "only" a Java Runtime installed. This may be more interesting to read.
Java webstart is used to deploy/install Java applications over the network.
The alternative is to send an application (MyApp.jar) to the users who will run that directly. But if it is out-of-date, they could have collisions when the application talks to the server (for example, or other such badness).
It also allows you to package all of the required libraries. This is a HUGE benefit.
http://java.sun.com/javase/technologies/desktop/javawebstart/index.jsp
As mentioned above, it's a technology to allow you to 'push' an always up to date Java app to users. It's not often used on a consumer level, but has some adoption in a corporate atmosphere.
It's best used in somewhat controlled environments, and is especially useful to push a specific version of client software to control a server.
Do other languages like C++ / C# have anything similar?
Yes. Microsoft provides something called ClickOnce that provides a web-based installer.
Today i am looking for the same example about the Java web start...
I thing this link will work for you,i have used as a beginner.
Click Here
As mention With Java Web Start software, users can launch a Java application by clicking a link in a web page. The link points to a Java Network Launch Protocol (JNLP) file, which instructs Java Web Start software to download, cache, and run the application.
We had a project, a plugin for Protégé, which is an ontology editor.
Installing the plugin isn't that hard, but to give the user a quick impression how the plugin worked, we supplied a Java Web Start application on our site. The page is still active, the plugin may have some rough edges, since it hasn't been updated for a while ... http://dac.icore.at/one/solutions.
I'm currently not aware of similar products for C/++/#.
Java web start is the 0-install solution in the java world.
An application built to use Java web start (JWS) will be available as a link in a web site. This site will have the .jnlp extension.
When a user clicks this link (and clicks the "execute" button of his browser) , the javaws.exe runtime will be launched. This executable will download the application and dependencies (libraries, images, and so on) and launch the application using the provided main-class of the .jnlp file).
An extensive reference of JNLP content can be found at http://lopica.sourceforge.net/ref.html
Examples of Java web start applications can be found at Swing sightings.
Notice that, depending upon the chosen configuration, these applciations can also be automatically installed in start menu.