The JDesktop Integration Components (JDIC) Introduction

Introduction

JDIC consists of a collection of Java packages (JDIC API), all with the package name prefix org.jdesktop.jdic, and a JNLP application packaging tool (JDIC Packager).

• JDIC API is composed of below Java packages:
  
  org.jdesktop.jdic.desktop: APIs to automate native applications, including the document viewer applications associated with a particular file type, the system browser and the system mailer.
  
  org.jdesktop.jdic.filetypes: APIs to associate document viewer applications with filetypes.
  
  org.jdesktop.jdic.browser: Provides an AWT component to enable the embedding of the desktop's web browsing component,which only Mozilla and IE be supported at present, into Java applications and applets. The APIs support URL navigation, a basic history mechanism and progress notification. 

org.jdesktop.jdic.tray: APIs to to create tray icons on the desktop (in the System Tray Area for Windows platforms, and in the Notification Area for Unix platforms). A tray icon can have a caption (text), an icon, and a menu associated with it. It can also have a tool tip that is displayed when the mouse hovers over the tray icon. To get animation in the notification tray, use an animated GIF for the icon. Tray menus are Swing menus, which enables them to contain icons (unlike Windows and Gnome tray menus) and have either a cross-platform look and feel or the system look and feel.

• JDIC Packager is a tool for putting JNLP applications into installable packages of the standard Windows, Linux, and Solaris formats — MSI, RPM and PKG, respectively.

System Requirements

JDIC API:

• Supported platforms
  • WinME/NT/2000/XP/2003, Sun Java Desktop System (JDS) Release 1 or later, SuSE Linux 7.1 or later, RedHat Linux 8 or later, Solaris 8 or later (package org.jdesktop.jdic.tray requires Solaris JDS 3).
• Additional software
  • Windows: Internet Explorer 5 or later, or Mozilla 1.4 or later.
  • Linux/Solaris: Gnome 2.0, Ximian Evolution 1.4 or later, Mozilla 1.4 or later.
  • J2SE v1.4.2 or later.

JDIC Packager:

• Supported platforms
  • WinME/NT/2000/XP/2003, Sun Java Desktop System (JDS) Release 1 or later, SuSE Linux 7.1 or later, RedHat Linux 8 or later, Solaris 8 or later.
• Additional software
  • Windows Developers need to download and install windows MSI SDK 1.5 to generate MSI packages.
  • End user using Windows98/NT needs MSI service package to install MSI packages. Download the following executable and install.
    Windows NT4 MSI Service Package, Windows 9x MSI Service Package
  • Linux: rpm-build package.
  • J2SE v1.5.0 or later.

Installation

To run the downloadable or built JDIC binaries, following below installation instructions(only Mozilla and IE be supported at present):

JDIC API:

• Add jdic.jar to CLASSPATH.
• Note: With earlier releases, on Windows, Browser component copies the bundled MozEmbed.exe file to the Mozilla binary path to work. Since 0.8.8, that file is not copied. While using the Browser component, BE SURE to remove the MozEmbed.exe file if it locates at the Mozilla binary path.   
• Below steps are ONLY necessary if the native library or executable files locate at a different location from jdic.jar. If a JDIC release (jdic-<version>-bin-<os>.zip) is unzipped, these files locate at the same location as jdic.jar and so below steps are unnecessary:
  • Add the path of native library files .dll to PATH (for Windows), or .so to LD_LIBRARY_PATH (for Linux/Unix).
  • Add the path of native executable files .exe (for Windows) or mozembed-<os>-gtk* (for Linux/Unix) to PATH.

Notes for earlier JDIC releases:

• for JDIC release 0.8.6.*, additional setting to use package org.jdesktop.jdic.tray:
  • Set the environment variable JAVA_HOME to the J2SDK/J2RE installation path.
• for JDIC release 0.8.5 or later, additional setting to use package org.jdesktop.jdic.browser:
  • On Windows, set the environment variable JAVA_HOME to the J2SDK/J2RE installation path.
• for JDIC release 0.8.4.*, additional settings to use package org.jdesktop.jdic.browser:
  • Windows
    - Add <J2SDK HOME>/jre/bin or <J2RE HOME>/bin to PATH.
    - Add the path of native executable files (*.exe) to PATH.
    - The system default browser (Mozilla or Internet Explorer) is embedded. If Mozilla is the embedded browser:
      * Set the environment variable MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME to the absolute path of the Mozilla 1.4 (or later) executable file.
      * Copy MozEmbed.exe file to the MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME directory.
      * Add MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME to PATH.
  • Linux/Solaris
    - Add the path of native executable files (mozembed-linux-gtk* or mozembed-solaris-gtk*) to PATH.
    - Set the environment variable MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME to the absolute path of the Mozilla 1.4 (or later) executable file.
    - Add MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME to LD_LIBRARY_PATH.

JDIC Packager:

• Add packager.jar to CLASSPATH.
• Add native library (*.dll) path to PATH (for Windows).
• J2SDK/J2RE version 1.5 or later is required to be installed. Make sure java command is under PATH, or set JDIC_PACKAGER_JAVAHOME to the home directory of J2SDK/J2RE to override the PATH setting.
• Add deploy.jar and javaws.jar in J2SDK/J2RE 1.5 or later to CLASSPATH. For J2SDK, the path is <J2SDK HOME>/jre/lib; For J2RE, it's <J2RE HOME>/lib.
• Run the command line tool jnlp2msi (for Windows),  jnlp2rpm (for Linux), or jnlp2pkg (for Solaris).