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[BrazilianBoy]

Is there an installer creator that works fine with java (and xith)?

[Marvin Fröhlich]

Is there an installer creator that works fine with java (and xith)?

Don't know. But isn't it sufficient to just copy the files to the hard disk. It should run out of the box.

Marvin

[BrazilianBoy]

Yeah, that's enough. Thanks.

['n ddrylliog]

Is there an installer creator that works fine with java (and xith)?

Sure.
The best I know is : http://izpack.org/

Enjoy !

[SephirXV]

I have recently been getting acquainted with OneJar (FatJar from Eclipse), which if arranged properly, allows you to pack just about everything into a single jar, including the third-party and media jars. The only thing I've been having issues with is native libraries, which may be more a Winblows problem.
It's not great for incremental updates, but end users love downloading one file and just clicking it.

[gouessej]

What about Java webstart? It is easy and it works quite good.

['n ddrylliog]

SephirXV, I have written OneClick, which does what you say (all in one jar) AND correctly handles natives. You can find it on SourceForge.

gouessej, the problem with Java Web Start is the signing headache, user warnings, etc. (Oh, and I forgot: random behavior under mysterious circumstances. Anyone having tried to do reasonable deployment under JWS will know what I mean.)

[Gunslinger]

gouessej, the problem with Java Web Start is the signing headache, user warnings, etc. (Oh, and I forgot: random behavior under mysterious circumstances. Anyone having tried to do reasonable deployment under JWS will know what I mean.)

I admit that user warnings are not that pleasant. But I do not understand what you mean by signing headache. It is no more a headache than compiling. One row in an ant-file:

Code:

<signjar keystore="abc.ks" jar="dist/abc.jar" alias="MyAlias" storepass="mypassword" />

On the plus side for jws:
* Let lwjgl and jogl handle their natives. You just handle your game.
* End users are automaticlly updated to the latest version. Only changed files need to be downloaded.

On the minus side (yes, I think you missed one):
You can't distribute your work on a cd (or something), everybody has to download from a webserver. I miss the feature:

Code:

This file can be downloaded from X.
But if it is on the cd take it from there.
Download updates from X in the future.

[Mathias 'cylab' Henze]

On the minus side (yes, I think you missed one):
You can't distribute your work on a cd (or something), everybody has to download from a webserver. I miss the feature:
(...)

It turned out, that this is possible after all: http://today.java.net/pub/a/today/2008/07/10/distributing-web-start-via-cd-rom.html

['n ddrylliog]

I admit that user warnings are not that pleasant. But I do not understand what you mean by signing headache. It is no more a headache than compiling. One row in an ant-file:

Code:

<signjar keystore="abc.ks" jar="dist/abc.jar" alias="MyAlias" storepass="mypassword" />

Oh, yeah, I am admittedly an old-schooler, who struggled with command lines for signing. So BTW, thumbs up for the ant team for easing that up.
What this doesn't solve: f*cking big warnings letting the user know that if his machine blow up, it's not Sun's fault, OR you have to pay a big*ss sum of money to Verisign to look legitimate. Your choice. (Oh, and did I forgot to mention that (self-forged) certificates expired every 6 months ? Well, that's kind of an incentive to keep your project alive
So no, I don't see JWS as a viable deployment alternative for anything except Java4K. For Demo distribution (yes, on CD-rom/usbkey/onefile-download, you heard me), go for OneClick/FatJar/whatever, and for serious desktop apps, go for IzPack/BitRock Builder.
But again, your mileage may vary. In my experience, good things often don't come directly from Sun, they come from around Sun. (E.g. amazing Java APIs/apps, but leaves-to-be-desired java compiler/memory usage, etc., read alioth debian shootout if you don't see what I mean).

[Gunslinger]

Another option is Excelsior jet. They make your jar-files into linux or windows binaries. I used it for my game Gunslinger. That way the user doesn't need a specific jvm. Technicly, it worked well. However, these days, they are far from cheap.

[gouessej]

I suggest using IzPack as it is clean, reliable and the shortcut feature really works; it allows to add links to launch the application and to uninstall it, it looks like something more "usual" for the final users. It is already used by FreeCol. I plan to use it instead of Java Webstart. Excelsior Jet is too expensive.

[Agrv]

What this doesn't solve: f*cking big warnings letting the user know that if his machine blow up, it's not Sun's fault, OR you have to pay a big*ss sum of money to Verisign to look legitimate.

I know this is now quite old but I just wanted to give some input : Thawte (https://www.thawte.com) proposes free certificates that are recognised by Java webstart, so there is no need to pay to look legitimate. Just select "Secure your e-mail" on their homepage, then create a free account and choose the "Developers of New Security Applications ONLY --> test" link. The certificates are valid for one year, you can create as many as you want. I use it and am satisfied.