What packaging tool should I use for a Mac/Windows Java app?

Question

I have a Java desktop app that runs on both the MacOS and Windows.

I understand that I cannot have one distribution for each, which is not a requirement.

I need to know what tool or tools is best to use when delivering a Java app for each.

The tool should install prerequisites (in this case, Java and some JARs) and look native to the respective operating system.

Answer 1

As for OS X's java situation:

1. Currently, JDK 6 is bundled in the OS.
2. Presumably, the next version of the OS will still include JDK 6.
3. It's publicly stated that the OS will have a well-defined place to install multiple copies of Java runtimes, a public interface choosing which of the Java version, etc. See here .
4. Apple started contributing back its own code to the open JDK community, so JDK 7 should be available as a separate download, see here .
5. So, you're not expected to include Java runtime itself into your Java app even then. You're not supposed to install Java in a ramdom place on a filesystem, for example.

As for how you should deploy java apps on OS X:

1. Double-clicking jar just works.
2. However, that won't be pretty, because you would only have a generic Java icon in the Dock. You don't want that.
3. You should use Jar Bundler to make it an honest OS X app. On Mac, it comes with XCode. See the documentation here. You can do that on a non-Mac machine too, using this open-source project .

Answer 2

On Windows, I would recommend either JSmooth or WinRun4J .

On a Mac, the situation is a bit more complex (as the comments point out), but just distributing an executable JAR is probably good enough for now.