Distribute jre or not?

[Chris]

We distribute a java app. Some of our customers will not have Java
installed, or they won't have the right version (we require 1.4). So it
makes sense to bundle a jre with our distribution.

The problem is that the size of the jre has gotten out of control. rt.jar
alone is 21mb! Even compressed, this is a lot for a casual customer to
download. It's also really irksome because our app is only 2mb.

So what do we do? Bite the bullet and distribute a 20mb app?

Or is there a lightweight alternative?

 

[ak]

We distribute a java app. Some of our customers will not have Java

installed, or they won't have the right version (we require 1.4). So it
makes sense to bundle a jre with our distribution.

The problem is that the size of the jre has gotten out of control. rt.jar
alone is 21mb! Even compressed, this is a lot for a casual customer to
download. It's also really irksome because our app is only 2mb.

http://www.InstallAnywhere.com

with this installer you can choose to include jre (in install directory) or
not.
make 2 distributions - one with jre, one without.
People without proper java version pays longer download time.

____________

http://reader.imagero.com the best java image reader.

 

[Steve W. Jackson]

:> We distribute a java app. Some of our customers will not have Java
:> installed, or they won't have the right version (we require 1.4). So it
:> makes sense to bundle a jre with our distribution.
:>
:> The problem is that the size of the jre has gotten out of control. rt.jar
:> alone is 21mb! Even compressed, this is a lot for a casual customer to
:> download. It's also really irksome because our app is only 2mb.
:
: http://www.InstallAnywhere.com
:
:with this installer you can choose to include jre (in install directory) or
:not.
:make 2 distributions - one with jre, one without.
eople without proper java version pays longer download time.
:
:____________
:
:http://reader.imagero.com the best java image reader.
:
:

And, speaking from experience, you'll need to be prepared to catch those
cases where somebody failed to have the proper version of the JRE
already installed, in spite of all your prior warnings. Ain't users
just grand?

= Steve =