Couldn't really find anywhere else for this, so put it up as a General Discussion.
To use OpenOffice Base OOo needs access to a java runtime.
The PA "Java Runtime" app takes care of downloading the necessary JREs. So long as the right default install folders are maintained, OpenOffice portable cleverly finds the necessary JREs. You just then need to confirm and away you go.
So, my question is simply, "what's the purpose of the Java Portable Launcher?"
I would have thought that if OOo can cleverly detect the JRE installed on the portable device, so too would any other java apps coming out of PA?
I only wanted the JRE for OOo purposes, but I would really appreciate it if someone could just explain to me why I would need Java Portable Launcher? Told you, perhaps a dumb question.
Just can't figure what other apps in the PA arsenal would need a JRE activating manually? Firefox has its java requirements built in; OOo can detect the JRE installed by Java Portable - so why use the Java Portable Launcher.
Purely for my own education.
Many thanks,
GrahamG
It allows you to run JAR files. Meaning, it's for arbitrary apps that we haven't released portable versions of to just run them.
I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1
Chris,
Thanks for the program extract; must learn to read. But to be fair this probably means more to a programmer than it does to me. But it has helped me understand the nature of JARs a bit more, so thanks for that.
So, really Java Portable Launcher is probably of more use to someone who might be on the move, have need of a JRE which isn't on the host machine and that may allow them to run a program that would require the JAR. I think I got it that time.
Cambridge, UK
More, a JAR can contain part of an (or an entire) Java application. And so there's a way JAR files can specify a "main" class to make it executable as a standalone program. It still requires Java, and it doesn't have a .exe file, but it depends on the JRE to run
javaw.exe -jar myprogram.jar
instead of something more likemyprogram.exe
.I am a Christian and a developer and moderator here.
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” – Proverbs 15:1