Is it possible to package a complete Java Application in CD for Comm. Distr
Good morning or evening to all:
I am interested in finishing a complete application to the point where its ready to be packaged as a commerical product off the shelf, in very much the same way you would write an Windows executable application with installation setup package. I know the Java is the warm fuzzy choice of the business, and that's what I have been trained in. Anyway, I am in the process of developing an education program from my children's school district on my own (Free), and I would like to finish the application where I could put it on disk and hand it to the system administrator to install on their systems. How do I put my java application in a finished state where no can see or edit the program code?
> Good morning or evening to all:
>
> I am interested in finishing a complete application
> to the point where its ready to be packaged as a
> commerical product off the shelf, in very much the
> same way you would write an Windows executable
> application with installation setup package.
Not really Java's core strength. I know that commercial products like InstallShield can do it. You might check source forge for an open source version. Java web start may also be an option. Depends if it is a standalone application or a web application and if you have a server involved as well. Hard to say.
> I know
> the Java is the warm fuzzy choice of the business,
> and that's what I have been trained in. Anyway, I am
> in the process of developing an education program
> from my children's school district on my own (Free),
> and I would like to finish the application where I
> could put it on disk and hand it to the system
> administrator to install on their systems. How do I
> put my java application in a finished state where no
> can see or edit the program code?
This can be done, but as byte-code (class files) is trivial to reverse engineer, even with obfuscation, it will be hard to 'protect' your code unless you also have a server somewhere that is doing some kind of key exchange to decrypt your class files on the fly. It is a decent amount of work using several different technologies, and in the end, someone can still see your code 'in the clear' in memory.
- Saish
Borland, Jetbrains, Oracle, IBM, Sun, and many others have been able to do it...
Of course your REAL question is the usual "I want to compile Java to native Windows code and prevent anyone from decompiling it because my code is brillant and top secret", to which the answer can only be "if you really have such a requirement you don't have to ask that question as you'd have been in this line of work long enough to figure it out for yourself".
