WebStart API Examples?

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Andrew Thompson - 07 Oct 2006 03:31 GMT

The WebStart user experience is still a mystery to most
developers. When discussing WebStart launch, I often hear
comments that indicate the developer has never *seen* a
WebStarted program launched onto screen.

While I have links to a few examples that demonstrate
interesting aspects of webstarted applications*, I would like
to see a bunch of sandboxed demos. of aspects of the JNLP
API** itself.

Sun has this rather teasing page titled 'JNLP API Examples' at..
<http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/guide/jws/developersguide/examples.html>
..but none of them link to a 'see it on-screen!' JNLP.

Is there some page at Sun's site of the JNLP API
(launchable) examples, that I missed?

It seems hard to believe that Sun has missed this
opportunity to demonstrate one of it's 'flagship'
products to the developers who (largely) will either
choose or reject the development of projects using it.

* Examples of Webstart
- applet/application, to see the difference
- 'all-permissions' application's signed with a
'self signed certificate' (interesting for the warnings)
- applications that use a library defined
in another JNLP on a distant site (JOGL).
- applications that suggest a desktop shortcut
and/or menu items.
- apps. that use splash images..

** <http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/docs/guide/jws/jnlp/index.html>

Andrew T.

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Andrew Thompson - 07 Oct 2006 08:50 GMT

...

> Is there some page at Sun's site of the JNLP API
> (launchable) examples, that I missed?

Perhaps I was 'looking' in the wrong place..
<http://www.google.com/search?as_q=Sun+Microsystems&as_filetype=jnlp&as_sitesearc
h=java.sun.com>
..supposedly shows all JNLP launch files at sun, though many
of them fail becasue they specify 1.6 (which I don't have) and do
not point to an auto-installer (I guess there is no auto-installer
available at the time these were made..)

This limits the search to JNLP launch files that do *not* mention 1.6
<http://www.google.com/search?as_q=Sun+Microsystems&as_eq=1.6&as_filetype=jnlp&as
_sitesearch=java.sun.com>
for a total of 7 - only one of which demonstrates webstart API's -
'notepad app' loads/saves files from within a sandboxed WebStart
app, with the user's prompting.

That is pretty pathetic, if it represents all the examples they offer.

And to the person who posted me an email containing my
own text of the original message. Two points..
- please respond to the group, not me personally
- adding some words of your own, might be a bonus.

Andrew T.

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Thomas Weidenfeller - 09 Oct 2006 08:48 GMT

> The WebStart user experience is still a mystery to most
> developers. When discussing WebStart launch, I often hear
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Is there some page at Sun's site of the JNLP API
> (launchable) examples, that I missed?

http://java.sun.com/products/javawebstart/demos.html

A Sun developer likes to provide demos of his hack via webstart in his
blog http://www.jroller.com/page/gfx You have to dig out the interesting
stuff from all the blog postings.

Usually, the examples in the GUI tutorial
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing/TOC.html can all be
started via WebStart. This is still the case, but Sun has already
updated all the GUI tutorial examples to 1.6.

By the way, if a GUI / installer developer claims to have never seen a
WebStart program it might indicate that he hasn't been bothered to look
at the GUI tutorial at least once.

/Thomas

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