Build Project? Executable file
Hi Everyone,
I am a student and have been programming in Java for the past 3 months. I was wondering if there is a way to make an executable from my java files. I have the source code, I compile it, and I can run it from the IDE (I use jCreator). If I want to send a non-source file to someone, so they can run the program, is there a way? I believe in C++, I can make my project into an executable file.
Please advice. Thanks for the answer!
The best and easiest thing is to create an executable jar file. You can probably create one using JCreator. An executable jar file is a file that contains your compiled code and data, plus some metadata, and when downloaded onto your desktop, you can double-click it and it will run your program, assuming that you have Java installed on that machine, which is reasonably likely.
You can also create native executables, but that's a pain for a variety of reasons. But if you really want to, you can do it. There's a company called Excelsior that makes a native compiler called Jet that costs like a thousand bucks.
The equivalent to an EXE file in Java is an executable JAR.
Tutorial: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/deployment/jar/index.html
I don't know about JCreator, but most IDEs will hold your hand and help you
export your project as an executable JAR. The tutorial shows making a JAR
by hand is not hard, anyway.
