Java: Make runnable java-file

[MrBambey]

Hey there,

I've got a java app sofar, which works great via commandline. If there are no arguments passed, it runs in interactive mode which means that I'm printing text wiht System.out.println() and reading users input via:

public String readString()
	{
		InputStreamReader input = new InputStreamReader(System.in);
		BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(input);
		String str = "";
		try { 
			str = reader.readLine(); 
		} 
		catch (IOException e) {}
		return str;
	}

The program must be rund from commandline with:

java -jar program.jar

1. I'm wondering how to do that the program gets interpreted directly by simply typing program.jar? Is there a way to or do I always need the "java -jar" in front?

The second way of using it is something with arguments like

java -jar program.jar -bla -foo

Then there might (depending on the arguments) an output via System.out.println() or not.

2. My second question is how to extend the functionality to have a GUI with some checkboxes and one or two (the second input-box is only needed when activating another checkbox) textfields when opening the program by double-clicking it? The functionality (inteactive mode in command line or mode to use command line arguments) should not be changed and should be preserved, so that there's a third way of using the program!

Thanks so far!

[corlettk]

1. Of course there is... but (of course) it involves tricky, non-standard, naferious means, so don't bother... I advise you to just stick with typing the "java -jar".

If you run program.jar at lot then you could create a script to compile and run it (with the given parameters)... exactly how you do that depends on which O/S you're running.

2. Of course you can... But... Java GUI programming is a bit more involved than most noobs are ready to deal with... So I strongly suggest you steer clear of GUIs until you have a good grasp of "the basic language", OO principles, and multi-threading.

If you really can't wait then start here, and good luck to you.

Cheers. Keith.

[MrBambey]

OK thanks for your reply. Nice to hear that it's possible.

1. Ok if you tell me it's non-standard, than it's not really important. I was just wondering :)
2. Ok thanks so far. Perhaps I'm gonna try out a little program with a simple GUI and than try to implement it into my source-code. What do you think of netbeans GUI creator to do that? :> Edit : Just saw the netbeans gui creator showed in your link, so thanks :)

[corlettk]

What do you think of netbeans GUI creator to do that?

NB's Matisse is the current "best of breed" Swing GUI creator, but my advise is DO NOT use it. You need to actually understand How It Works before you can use the tool to generate anything useful, but the tool hides the details from you, so IMHO the tool is fundamentally a no-no for noobs... but then again I think GUI's are over noobs heads... but that's exactly what every kid wants to rush into, and most of them EPIC fail... but if you must, you must.

Cheers. Keith.

[Singing Boyo]

but then again I think GUI's are over noobs heads... but that's exactly what every kid wants to rush into, and most of them EPIC fail... but if you must, you must.

I am, quite literally, a 'kid'. And I used GUI's from about my third program onward. While complex GUIs were by far over my head, simple ones with one or two buttons and a couple of TextAreas and Labels were fine. Just avoid using complex LayoutManagers, and make sure that you have the code behind the GUI working correctly before you try to create a GUI.

My suggestion is that you use BoxLayout/FlowLayout, and just create as many JPanels or containers as you need.

Best of Luck,
Singing Boyo