I agree, there seem to be a big drawback for distrubution with Java in comparisson to C/C++ etc where you have installer and the .exe files which everyone knows.
But with Java there always seem to be "something" that takes some work, which maybe not all random users can solve.
Twixly said:
I agree, there seem to be a big drawback for distrubution with Java in comparisson to C/C++ etc where you have installer and the .exe files which everyone knows.
But with Java there always seem to be "something" that takes some work, which maybe not all random users can solve.
Its no problem wrapping a java application in an exe and even supplying the JRE with your application all in a windows installer so the user doesnt even recognize its Java. Thing is this will only work on windows.
On mac you'd expect to download a dmg from which you can drag&drop your application to your applications folder. On Linux, you are searching for the readme.txt and prepare to recompile the kernel and sacrifice a goat to get it working.
Okay, WebStart or even Applets require the user to know at least about how to install a JRE or run a jnlp file but they really work on all platforms (given your app is compatible).
jMonkeyPlatform for example has an installer for each platform that informs the user when java is not installed and then creates shortcuts / apps or whatever is necessary for that platform. You dont really "mess with java" this way.
Just my 2c..
Normen