Java Portable 6 Update 14 has been released by PortableApps.com. Java Portable allows you to easily install the Java runtime engine to your PortableApps.com-enabled device. With Java on your portable device, apps in PortableApps.com Format which utilize the Java runtime environment, like OpenOffice.org Portable, can automatically utilize Java even if it isn't installed on the local PC. It's packaged in PortableApps.com Format for easy use from any portable device and integration with the PortableApps.com Suite. And it's completely free.
Please vote for PortableApps.com in the 2009 SourceForge.net Community Choice Awards.
Features
Java Portable allows you to easily add a Java runtime environment to your portable device. It automatically works with apps in PortableApps.com Format like OpenOffice.org Portable. No Java runtime environment needs to be installed on the local machine and no admin rights are required. The Sun JVM will be downloaded directly from Sun's servers as part of the installation process.
Java Portable Apps Coming
This release of Java Portable marks the beginning of Java apps on the PortableApps.com Platform. We'll begin releasing other portable apps in addition to OpenOffice.org Portable next week!
Java Developers - Get Help Packaging for PortableApps.com
If you develop a Java app and would like help packaging your software in PortableApps.com Format, just post a note to the Development Forum and we'll help you out.
PortableApps.com Installer / PortableApps.com Format
Java Portable is packaged as a PortableApps.com Installer so it will automatically detect an existing PortableApps.com installation when your drive is plugged in. It supports upgrades by installing right over an existing copy, preserving all settings. And it's in PortableApps.com Format, so it automatically works with the PortableApps.com Suite including the Menu and Backup Utility.
Download
The PortableApps.com Installer is available for immediate download from the Java Portable homepage. Get it today!
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Comments
YAY Freeware! Or did Sun
YAY Freeware! Or did Sun finish opening JAVA?
You'll see
You'll see...
Offical Freeware
Offical Freeware
License: Freeware / Partially Open Source
(Incorrect) Warning: This is NOT a Java install
I normally check my installs first, but I thought that this site was trustworthy, so I did not check this one before installing it (I have to assume a cracker got in).
It got to the end of the install, and *then* it asked to download Java, from an external site (which I of course denied, as that is what I had assumed that I had downloaded in the first place, and in addition there is NO mention that this is one of those brain-dead net only installers, which kind of goes against the whole portable apps theme, the ability to scan for viruses/malware, and the size, after all, it is almost 14 meg and does NOT include Java, so just what is in there???).
I am about to go ofline and do a COMPLETE check of my system (and I just hope that it is not so new that my anti-virus/malware can't catch it).
Please, PLEASE do NOT download this!
I just hope that someone in power here can get the site back and remove this and any other "bad" downloads before too many other people get hit.
Note: It looks like I use the same CMS, so I have got some more work ahead of me if they got in that way (checking at the very least).
This is not a "bad" download,
This is not a "bad" download, and this was released by the owner of this site.
It's not a bad download at
It's not a bad download at all. The source is available if you wanna see how it works. The installer creates all of necessary directory structure, then will download the official JAVA installer from Sun. The official Java installer is run, with the install path set to the portable directory.
This is done because our application hosting is done through SourceForge, which only allows open source software, which Java is not.
open source software, which
open source software, which Java is not
Just to expand on this topic a bit, I'll add that actually most of Java has been open sourced under GNU GPL, and there is quite a number of free JVM implementations:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Java_virtual_machines
It's just that this particular implementation is not completely free.
Correct, we're packaging the
Correct, we're packaging the official Java VM, which has not yet been fully converted to open source
Oh Noes!
I think we been trolled...
Woo! Loving this Java!
installed and working perfectly
Entirely incorrect.
Way off base.
It's a perfectly safe download.
See, this is how it works.
You download the program from this site. It creates the files and so forth on your flash drive and then, since Java isn't fully Open-Source, it downloads a Java installer from the Sun site, runs the installer to put the files on the flash drive, allowing Portable Applications to use it.
(edit:Didn't see Zach described it perfectly above. Sorry for redundancy.)
Not malicious, just a workaround to the current inability to redistribute Java files.
Perhaps, next time, you could say "Hey, why is it downloading from an external site?" rather than jumping to the conclusion that "OMG EXTERNAL SITE VVVVIIIIRRRRUUUUSSSS".
Sorry for your bad experience.
Perhaps we should make it clear to inexperienced users [and modem users
] that the installer will download the actual Java from the Sun site as part of the install process, but be assured, nothing malicious has occurred.
Feel free to scan your system with all your tools, you will find that it is in the same shape as it was before. The external site which you refer to is a legitimate source for Java downloads. If you can't trust that site, you should not be installing Java at all.
It was not a "bad" download.
All the best,
And Welcome to the forums
Moderator Tim
Official Sun Java
This downloads the official Java JVM directly from Sun and MD5 checks it to verify that it is the actual official release before extracting it.
I've updated the main page to mention that it is a live installer.
(BTW - It looks like you used a disposable email address from a domain we hadn't yet blocked. We don't allow disposable email accounts as we've had issues with spam and harassing posts. If you'd like to update your account to a valid email, just drop us a note.)
How and what
Would someone be kind enough and just give us a step by step as to where the installation should go and how it would be integrated with other portable apps. I looked in different places but couldn't find an answer and tried various installation putting the extracted file in the root of Windows drive then in the common files folder (Program Files) and finally in different places within the portableapps folder but Java still wouldn't work with portable firefox. Sorry for the noob question but any help would be appreciated.
No Firefox
It doesn't work with Firefox. Firefox only supports a locally-installed Java at the moment. The proper install location is mentioned on the homepage:
https://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/java_portable#support
If you need support, please drop a note in the forums.
Is it something new?
I am not sure this installer is necessary.
For months I have been using Java Portablizer 1.1 that is mentioned and could be downloaded from here: https://portableapps.com/support/openoffice_portable#java
This program installs itself on your PortbleApps.com USB and copies all necessary Java files from the host computer - you mustn't download anything from Internet. Java Portablizer worked fine with Java 5 and it is still working fine with Java 6.
Why should I download this new program (Java Portable) that is an installer for another installer?
Many Reasons
Some people won't have it installed locally (and won't want to). Some people may be on a PC without admin rights (and can't install it locally first). Some people may be on a PC with an outdated copy of Java. Some people may be on a PC with the full SDK installed (which is much larger).
The simple answer is that this is a consistent, simple way to ensure that anyone who installs Java portably is actually getting the current JRE without the extra SDK files and can install it on the PC they are currently on (even without admin rights).
If you have additional questions, please post a note in the support forums.
another option is that some
another option is that some won't have the rights to install it. So with the portable version they are able to still run java code.
couple of questions
Will this conflict with a locally installed Java?
And which Java, if one is locally installed will the other portable apps use?
Will changing Java settings affect the local install's settings?
Which Portable Apps Applications are currently set up to use the portable Java install?
Self-Contained
This Java is self-contained and only for use by portable apps. As mentioned, the only app released so far for it is OpenOffice.org Portable. And, as expected it uses the portable install of Java instead of a local one. The portable Java will still use the local Java settings if there are any, you can not set them independently. Java apps in PortableApps.com Format will be coming now that Java Portable has been released.
If you have additional questions, please post a note in the support forums.
Why so large?
A developer question here; why exactly is InstallOptions.dll more than 14MB in size (opening the installer with 7-Zip), and what is it used for (I haven't run it through to completion, I've only gone as far as the directory selection page)?
Sweet
This opens the doors for a lot of new apps = )
Thanks John for your work on this and thanks Sun Microsystems for allowing it to happen = )
Will Portable Java Resolve FreeMind Issues?
ref (cites below)
-- Hopefully Portable Java can help resolve whatever seemed to be holding back Java-based app, "Freemind" from being considered a standard Portable App.
-- Been using developmental version reliably for more than a year now and have abandoned use of local installation entirely (other than in non-MS environments). Found to be interoperable with Linux & Max OSX versions -- accessing/using same sets of MindMap (.mm) files interchangeably.
-- earlier correspondence, this subject:
under Forums/Development Forums:
"Apps Ready For Official Release, Post Here"
============================================
( https://portableapps.com/node/11772 )
-- rab040ma - March 1, 2008 - 1:31pm
"I think Freemind is about ready, if everyone else concurs. ...."
[& ref Java issues]
-- rab040ma - August 18, 2008 - 4:11pm
"The Freemind packages seem to be working well and meeting a need. ...."
[& ref Java issues]
--- Oftencold - October 17, 2008 - 11:34pm
"I am using the Beta heavily and with near-perfect results. ...."
[supporting rab04ma/2008.08.18]
under Forums/Development Forums/Beta Testing
============================================
-- "Freemind Portable Development Test 6"
( https://portableapps.com/node/10952 )
(first posted 2008.01.17)
(last updated 2009.01.04)
--- "Why FreeMind Not on Apps List Yet?"
[latest entry in message thread]
(posted 2009.05.22)
Yup
We didn't want to have any Java apps moving forward without a solid, legit way for people to install Java on their portable device in one step without needing admin rights or a local install to pull from.
Not fully portable
Sorry to say but this app is NOT FULLY portable.
I installed it (trying to install) on a machine where the whole C: disk is protected by policies. Changes to the C: disk are not allowed.
Other portable apps from this site could be installed to my personal H: disk without any problem.
This app tries to do "something" on the C: disk which in this case failed.
Therefor - this app is not fully portable.
In my opinion a portable application should only use the portable directory when used AND when installing.
Makers/creaters: if you could change this I would appreceate it a lot.
Joost
Not fully helpful
Sorry to say but you need to give us some more information.
What exactly is occurring?
Are you getting an error message/message of any kind ?
If your C: disk really did not allow changes of any kind many of our apps would not run, as some of them temporarily write to the host or registry and remove those writings when done.
What OS and version are you currently running.
If you could repost your post here: https://portableapps.com/forums/support/other_apps
with More information we maybe able to give you better assistance.
As much useful information as you could provide would be appreciated, but please post it at the link provided above, and not here as this is not a support area, it is a news/release story.
And welcome to the forums.
Tim
Tim
You said quote, "some of them temporarily write to the host or registry and remove those writings when done." unquote.
Which apps do this?
Many and varied
If you want to know more, take a look at Other\Source\AppNamePortable.nsi in each package.
TEMP directory / Is Portable, But Your PC is Locked
It does need to download a file to a PC's TEMP directory, get the Java files from it, then delete it. Actually, all launchers here need to temporarily use the temp directory as well. Other than that, it doesn't do anything to your C: drive as part of the install. Some PCs will be too locked down for portable software use and it looks like yours is too locked down to use this installer (the only legal alternative is downloading and installing the JRE locally and then copying it to your drive which you also would be barred from doing by your PC's policy).
A feature on the upcoming PortableApps.com Platform may allow you to get around this, though.
Make SDK optional?
Would you consider making it optional to install the full JDK instead of just the JRE? Granted, this would be for the sake of the minority of users, but I myself would find it useful. And with a 16Gb drive, the extra size isn't really an issue for me.
Say What?
Something written earlier went way over my head:
"It doesn't work with Firefox. Firefox only supports a locally-installed Java at the moment."
Firefox Portable is on my USB flash drive. If I install Java Portable to my flash drive, doesn't that make it locally installed vis. a vis. Firefox Portable?
Nope
Firefox only works with a JRE installed on the local PC and registered as with the OS. We can do this temporarily with a helper app, but it'll only work when you're logged in as an admin.
How does one do this?
Hi John,
I had a look and search and I can't find any info on how to set the portable java as an helper app for java.
How does one configure FFP to use the portable java?
Thanks
Paul
Understood
Alright, then. Thanks very much for all the work that you and your colleagues have done. Much appreciated!
FYI ..
For those of you who have a clue ! and, like I do, think this is great news and we should start exploring the possibilities ASAP,I would like to point your attention to this section: "Required vs. Optional Files" in the java readme.txt-file .
There are lots of files you can delete (or even omit if you re-distribute java bundled with your app f.ex), these are listed in the readme. You can delete even more but then you can't legally redistribute .
I have a fully working(tracker and everything), nearly portable version of Azureus and Java, where java is down to 102 files as opposed to the more than 600 in the default installation. (It's only nearly portable because azureus uses the absolute path when saving data and changing that requires changes to the source-code. If anyone knows how, I'm interested )
If you then run the portable apps compacter on it you can get as low as 22MB on disk .
Maybe Sun would allow a "java_light.paf" if asked nicely ? It could then be bundled with the portable java-launcher for instance ..
(You can pack the distributed installer itself even further with lzma ..)
We've asked
We've already asked and are awaiting permission.
WoW
That is really great news,
I hope Sun can see the potential and gives green light..
Now, if anyone could tell a java-programming newbie how to make a java-app use relative paths instead of absolute (or point me to what I should read) I would appreciate it .