How to create JAR files

[Carlos Delgado]

Hi all! I'm very newbie in Java. I got to do an application for my school where my teacher haven't teached us very well.
My application is finished but I want to know how to create a JAR file.
Is a JAR file an executable file? What's a manifest file?
I've got a main Swing form, several classes, a folder where I put the exception classes and another folder with images (gif).
I've searched in this forum but all questions about this are too complicated to me. I don't want a complicated one, just knowing how to do a simple one.
Thanks in advance!

(Sorry for my english. I'm spanish.)

[Elouise Kivineva]

Look here
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/jar/basics/index.html

Lots of answers can generally be found at Sun's java Tutorials & Code Camps area: http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/index.html

[Chandra Sekhar]

Hi

The command to create jar file is

jar cvf <jarfilename> folder containing class files/*.*

ex: jar cvf ranch.jar ranchsrcs/*.*

this will also create a manifest file automatically.

U can make jar file executable,ie when u double click on jar to run ur application,u need to give the class name contains main method in ur manifest file.

Edit the manifest file add an entry like
Main-Class: classname

Chandrasekhar
SCJP

[Carlos Delgado]

THANKS!!!
I've got this code in a BAT file:

jar cmf MANIFEST.MF pr2.jar *.class graficos errors

I've got a folder with GIFs called "graficos" and another with the Exceptions called "errors".
As the command JAR creates the MANIFEST but not create the Main Class automatically I've got the external "MANIFEST.MF" with:

Main-CLass: formulario

which is my main Swing class.
Is all OK?
Thanks again!

[omar bili]

hi ,in the manifest you write
the name of the class that contains the main
method. in ur case : formulario
watch out for the spaces

[Carlos Delgado]

Originally posted by omar bili:
hi ,in the manifest you write
the name of the class that contains the main
method. in ur case : formulario
watch out for the spaces

Are you meaning that "Main-Class: formulario" should be wrong? Should it be "Main-Class:formulario"?

[Dirk Schreckmann]

Carlos, are you still stuck?

You might like to take a look at the Creating an Executable JAR File thread.

[Carlos Delgado]

Originally posted by Dirk Schreckmann:
Carlos, are you still stuck?

No, thanks Dirk. I've already made what I needed.