Java Web Start

Java Web Start is a technology from Sun Microsystems that allows to run Java applications on the Internet with just one click. Unlike Java applets, Java Web Start applications do not require a browser to run to.

Each time you start a Java Web Start application can be checked if newer components are present. So the user can always work with the current provided by the author of the program version. A once downloaded version of an application remains in a buffer ( engl. cache) on the hard disk of the client until it is determined in testing that a new version is available and this needs to be charged. Thus unnecessary downloads can be prevented and it is still guaranteed that always runs the current program version.

Is a prerequisite for the execution of Java Web Start applications that

• The developer providing the program on a server for download and a special XML file provides ( with the extension ". jnlp " ), in which the individual components of the application are described.
• The web server on which the Java application is deployed, the MIME type knows application / x -java- jnlp -file.
• Installed on the client, the Java Runtime Environment (JRE contains version 1.4.2 or Java Web Start ), because the Java application using the local Java VM is running.

Java Network Launching Protocol ( JNLP )

The Java Network Launching Protocol ( JNLP ) is an XML format that defines how applications are invoked via Java Web Start. JNLP files contain information such as the location of JAR files, the name of the main class of an application and additional parameters for the program to be called. A properly configured web browser passes JNLP files to the Java run -time environment that in turn downloads the application to the user's PC and starts. JNLP was developed under the Java Community Process as JSR 56 and is now available in three versions 1.0, 1.5 and 1.6.