I have made a game in java and now want to make a setup program that installs all the files and dirs and have a remove program funktion is there a program that can do this? i want a *.exe file 
/VeNOM
Use NSIS with SuperPimp technology. SuperPimp is so cool, they don’t even tell you what it is. 
As for a program launcher, try this code:
#include <windows.h>
#define MY_APP_NAME "MyApp"
#define MY_APP_EXEC "javaw -jar myapp.jar"
int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow)
{
STARTUPINFO startup_info;
PROCESS_INFORMATION process_info;
BOOL valid;
int result;
LONG key;
PHKEY openkey;
LPDWORD type;
LPBYTE data;
key = RegOpenKey(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, "SOFTWARE/JavaSoft/Java Runtime Environment", openkey);
key = RegQueryValueEx(openkey, "CurrentVersion", NULL, type, data,
LPBYTE lpData,
// address of data buffer
LPDWORD lpcbData
// address of data buffer size
startup_info.cb = sizeof(startup_info);
startup_info.lpReserved = NULL;
startup_info.lpDesktop = NULL;
startup_info.lpTitle = NULL;
startup_info.dwX = 0;
startup_info.dwY = 0;
startup_info.dwXSize = 0;
startup_info.dwYSize = 0;
startup_info.dwXCountChars = 0;
startup_info.dwYCountChars = 0;
startup_info.dwFillAttribute = 0;
startup_info.dwFlags = STARTF_FORCEONFEEDBACK;
startup_info.wShowWindow = 0;
startup_info.cbReserved2 = 0;
startup_info.lpReserved2 = NULL;
startup_info.hStdInput = NULL;
startup_info.hStdOutput = NULL;
startup_info.hStdError = NULL;
valid = CreateProcess(
NULL,
MY_APP_EXEC,
NULL,
NULL,
FALSE,
CREATE_DEFAULT_ERROR_MODE,
NULL,
NULL,
&startup_info,
&process_info
);
if(!valid)
{
result = MessageBox(NULL, "Failed to launch the application. Please make sure that a JVM of 1.3 or higher is installed.", MY_APP_NAME, MB_OK);
}
return 0;
}
Replace the MY_APP_NAME and MY_APP_EXEC constants with your program’s settings. You can compile with either Visual C++ or with Cygwin GCC. Here’s the voodoo you can use to made GCC work:
g++ -mwindows -mno-cygwin -o MyApp.exe MyApp.cpp
That will create you a windows executable that’s independant of Cygwin.
key = RegQueryValueEx(openkey, "CurrentVersion", NULL, type, data,
where is the “);” ???
Whoops! I forgot I was modifying that to autodetect the JVM location (shouldn’t be necessary, but I’ve seen some pretty screwed up installations). This one should work better:
#include <windows.h>
#define MY_APP_NAME "MyApp"
#define MY_APP_EXEC "javaw -jar myapp.jar"
int WINAPI WinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE hPrevInstance, LPSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow)
{
STARTUPINFO startup_info;
PROCESS_INFORMATION process_info;
BOOL valid;
int result;
startup_info.cb = sizeof(startup_info);
startup_info.lpReserved = NULL;
startup_info.lpDesktop = NULL;
startup_info.lpTitle = NULL;
startup_info.dwX = 0;
startup_info.dwY = 0;
startup_info.dwXSize = 0;
startup_info.dwYSize = 0;
startup_info.dwXCountChars = 0;
startup_info.dwYCountChars = 0;
startup_info.dwFillAttribute = 0;
startup_info.dwFlags = STARTF_FORCEONFEEDBACK;
startup_info.wShowWindow = NULL;
startup_info.cbReserved2 = 0;
startup_info.lpReserved2 = NULL;
startup_info.hStdInput = NULL;
startup_info.hStdOutput = NULL;
startup_info.hStdError = NULL;
valid = CreateProcess(
NULL,
MY_APP_EXEC,
NULL,
NULL,
FALSE,
CREATE_DEFAULT_ERROR_MODE,
NULL,
NULL,
&startup_info,
&process_info
);
if(!valid)
{
result = MessageBox(NULL, "Failed to launch the application. Please make sure that a JVM of 1.3 or higher is installed.", MY_APP_NAME, MB_OK);
}
return 0;
}
And for the record (in case I got somethings else wrong) this is the same code that I posted over at JDC a while back. Here’s the link:
http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jsp?forum=422&thread=360416
yea this one works perfectly :-*
edit: btw i compiled it with dev-c++ (mingw)
Using NSIS you could also launch a java app by getting the java runtime from the registry. Heres a bit to get the current runtime location:
; Check for Java
Function .onInit
; Get the Java home directory if installed
ReadRegStr $0 HKLM "SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime Environment" "CurrentVersion"
ReadRegStr $1 HKLM "SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime Environment\$0" "JavaHome"
; Check that Java exists, otherwise inform user and exit
Strcmp $1 "" 0 continue
MessageBox MB_OK "Java is not installed on your machine. Please install the Java Runtime and run this install again."
Quit
continue:
FunctionEnd
Now you could create a shortcut to start your app. We will say you have created an executable jar called “mygame.jar” and want a shortcut under Programs called “My Game” with the shortcut called “Start”:
; Create shortcuts
CreateDirectory "$SMPROGRAMS\My Game"
CreateShortCut "$SMPROGRAMS\My Game\Start.lnk" "$1\bin\javaw.exe" "-jar mygame.jar" "" ""
yea i tried the “javaw -jar bla.jar blabla” shortcut way too. it works flawlessly.
but i like to have an exe wich does basically the same. just because it could happen that the user accidentially delete the shortcut and doesnt know that he/she just have to doubleclick on the jar to start the program.
well i think the stuff u posted there will be helpfull in the not to distant future.
thx SpongeBob
And on systems where the file association for jar files is messed up(like mine used 2 be…),
an exe is infinitly better.
Yep. Using the NSIS method I posted is not a better way of doing things, just another way of doing it. It takes alot for granted: (1) Sun JRE is installed and (2) the most current is the one to use.
That is not an issue with the NSIS script I posted. Association of file extensions is in a different part of the windows registry.
Have you tried JavaWebstart, it does not create a .exe, but will let you set an icon & show up in the start menu.
If you want a heavyweight solution, you could try InstallAnywhere. I believe there is a still a free version hanging around.
It creates an installer and executable for multiple platforms. The only problem I’ve noticed is the size of the installer at the end.
Kev
Personally I use Inno Setup:
http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php
It’s a great simple piece of freeware for making install exes.
This one is free and very much like Install Anywhere
http://www.openinstallation.org/
it is the reference implementation for JSR 38 - Application Installation API Specification