[news.eclipse.newcomer] Re: Help with jar export and external library

[Eric Rizzo <eclipse5@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Paul Rubin wrote:
> Eric Rizzo wrote:
> > Paul Rubin wrote:
> > > I don't suppose anybody has found a better way to get around Java 
> > > ignoring -cp when running a jar?
> >
> > I was not aware of that side-effect of using java "-jar" but in any 
> > case you don't have to resort to deploying an exploded JAR (.class 
> > files). You can still ship a JAR and a batch file, just instead of 
> > using "java -jar ..." you include your JAR on the -cp arg to java.exe 
> > or javaw.exe. The -jar shorthand is just a convenience method, you can 
> > ignore it when it doesn't meet your needs.
>
> Simple, elegant, works like a charm.  Thanks!  My app doesn't require 
> much in the way of launching (I wrote a one-line batch file to launch 
> it).  I had just assumed (incorrectly) that if you launched a class 
> rather than a jar, the class containing the main method had to reside in 
> the file system (rather than in an archive).  Wouldn't have thought to 
> try this without the tip.

Heh - this is what you might call a "generation gap" in the Java world. 
Until Java 1.4 (or was it 1.3? I can't remember) there was no -jar 
option to java.exe. And any programmer who began before sophisticated 
tools like Eclipse and Ant was forced to know all the details of 
launching a Java program.

Anyway, I'm glad you got where you needed to go, and I'd recommend you 
follow up and learn everything about launching the JVM - there's lots in 
there that IDEs hide from you and you may want/need to be aware of at 
some point in the future.

Eric