Loading Resources within *.jar

[John Luckcuck]

I'm trying to load a properties file located /config/fbn.props in my jar. This works fine outside the jar. I'm using:

URL url = this.getClass().getResource("/config/fbn.props");
properties.load(url.getFile());

If I use the same principle for loading an image, this works fine :

URL url = this.getClass().getResource("/images/pic1.gif");
JLabel l = new JLabel(new ImageIcon(url));

I assume the problem is comming up with a URL that is compatible with the "internal references" of the jar. What's the best way (or working way even!) of obtaining the path to files within the jar ?
Thanks in advance

[John Luckcuck]

I've resolved this issue by using :
URL url = this.getClass().getResource("/config/fbn.props");
properties.load(url.openStream());
But maybe using a properties file was a little OTT in the first place :roll:

[Peter den Haan]

That's the way to do it -- the URL you get back will have the jar: pseudo-protocol and cannot be converted into a File. Using getResourceAsStream can simplify your code slightly.
- Peter

[John Luckcuck]

Cheers Peter,
I've decided to stick with my properties file and leave it outside the jar (which is sensible) to allow users to pre-configure their client / server without having to specify command line parameters. Of course, I wont be ignoring the command line parameters, the properties file will merely define my defaults. Any extra command line parameters will overwrite those used in the properties file.