Silly simply question

[justaguy]

First, I'm not a java programmer. But the app server (open source)
that my app runs on requires java, and it comes with two versions of
with jre or without jre, and I'm porting my app to Mac, the jre is
78MB, pretty big file size wise, question, so, if most Mac computers
have java installed already I don't need to bundle it with jre and if
not I need to, your thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Tom Anderson]

First, I'm not a java programmer. But the app server (open source) that
my app runs on requires java, and it comes with two versions of with jre
or without jre, and I'm porting my app to Mac, the jre is 78MB, pretty
big file size wise, question, so, if most Mac computers have java
installed already I don't need to bundle it with jre and if not I need
to, your thoughts? Thanks.

I think all versions of OS X come with Java; the question is, what
version.

What you'll need to do is find out what versions of the JRE your app
server is compatible with; both the lowest version it will work with, and
perhaps the highest version. Then you'll need to decide what versions of
OS X you want to support. Then you'll need to find out what versions of
Java shipped with each of those versions of OS X. Then, you'll be able to
see if there are any versions of OS X that have versions of Java that your
app server won't work with.

If there are, you can make a choice between (a) not supporting those
versions, (b) shipping the JRE as part of your app, (c) requiring users of
those versions to install a separate JRE, or (d) requiring users to
download a different version of your app which includes its own JRE.

I know early version of OS X lagged far behind in their Java releases.
It's been pretty good in the last few years, though.

tom

 

[justaguy]

I think all versions of OS X come with Java; the question is, what
version.

What you'll need to do is find out what versions of the JRE your app
server is compatible with; both the lowest version it will work with, and
perhaps the highest version. Then you'll need to decide what versions of
OS X you want to support. Then you'll need to find out what versions of
Java shipped with each of those versions of OS X. Then, you'll be able to
see if there are any versions of OS X that have versions of Java that your
app server won't work with.

If there are, you can make a choice between (a) not supporting those
versions, (b) shipping the JRE as part of your app, (c) requiring users of
those versions to install a separate JRE, or (d) requiring users to
download a different version of your app which includes its own JRE.

I know early version of OS X lagged far behind in their Java releases.
It's been pretty good in the last few years, though.

tom

Tom, thank you for the excellent answer, it got me started on the
right track with Mac and Java. Much appreciated. Don

 

[Roedy Green]

that my app runs on requires java, and it comes with two versions of
with jre or without jre, and I'm porting my app to Mac, the jre is
78MB, pretty big file size wise, question, so, if most Mac computers
have java installed already I don't need to bundle it with jre and if
not I need to, your thoughts? Thanks.

See http://mindprod.com/jgloss/jre.html
http://mindprod.com/jgloss/jdk.html

App servers typically generate little Java programs and compile them
on the fly. They would require the JDK which contains the javac.exe
compiler. Normally you do not include the JRE or JDK in your package.
Just include a note and url that it must be installed first.
--
Roedy Green Canadian Mind Products
http://mindprod.com
For me, the appeal of computer programming is that
even though I am quite a klutz,
I can still produce something, in a sense
perfect, because the computer gives me as many
chances as I please to get it right.