Tutorial 2008-01: Java Webstart Launch

The Querix 4GL Java client `Chimera`can be deployed locally or with a remote deployment option using Java WebStart or an Applet.

Deploying the Java Client Chimera in a real working environment (Standalone, Java WebStart, Applet) 

To run the Chimera client on a machine, the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.4 or newer must be installed locally on the client. We currently recommend version 1.6.2 or newer.

There are three ways of installing Chimera on the client:

• Static installation using the Chimera installation program/script
• Embedding the Chimera Client in an HTML page as an applet (download & installation at runtime)
• Download and install the Chimera client using Java’s WebStart Technology from a html page

Static/Local Chimera installation on the client system

Use the normal installation program/script to install Chimera on the client.

Call the Chimera client with the corresponding connection details using flags.

chimera –p <gui server port> -h <server host name or ip address> <program name>

For a ‘myprogram’ demo application, for example, the shortcut would look as follows:

chimera -p 1691 -h 192.168.10.11 myproject/myprogram

Start Chimera and launch an application using a WebServer (applet or JavaWebstart)

For the example used in this section you must have a working Web server installed.  Either MS IIS, IBM’s Websphere or Apache Web server are recommended.

Chimera can be embedded in a Web server, to provide remote access to your applications within a Java environment.

This can be done by creating a Web page that has an applet in it or a SUN Webstart (JNLP) file.  This Web page contains code that downloads the applet to the local host and starts the Chimera advanced thin-client.

Chimera includes a tool called ‘HTML & JNLP Creator’ which will create the applet and the code to download it. 

Before starting ‘HTML & JNLP Creator’, copy the chimera.jar file which is in the Chimera installation directory (in Windows this is C:\Program Files\Querix\Chimera or in Unix this will be usr/Chimera) into the Web server location.

1)      Start the ‘HTML & JNLP Creator’ utility

2)      Windows: In a Windows environment, from the Start menu, choose All Programs, then Querix, then Tools, and select ‘HTML & JNLP Creator’.

3)      Unix/Linux: type /usr/local/lib/Chimera/jnlpcreate into the terminal

The ‘HTML & JNLP Creator’ window is displayed with the application connection dialog box – identical to the phoenix/chimera connection dialog box.

4)      Type the appropriate information in the fields of the ‘HTML & JNLP Creator’ Basic Settings window.

HTML & JNLP Creator Basic Settings

Application: this is the name and location of the application to be run, in the same way as when running the Chimera Start Application.

Host: the name or IP address of the GUI application server that the application resides on.

Port: the number of the port that your server uses to communicate with the remote host, usually the default – 1689, or 1691 for the secure port with user authentication.

Alternatively, click on Script to specify the location of any script files (.qxs) with application  launch information that you want remote users to use.  In our example leave this blank as we will enter the connection settings directly.

Click ‘Next’ to get to ‘More Settings’

More Settings

Company Name: This is the text that WebStart will show as the ‘vendor name’, usually that of your company.

Application Title: This is the application name that will be shown in WebStart and any other shortcuts created.

Chimera.jar Location: the location of the chimera.jar file, which should be stored in the same directory as the Web page used to access the application.  In this example: http://192.168.10.11.

Note: You must specify a fully qualified URL of the chimera.jar file location on your webserver -not the file system path.

Click ‘Next’ to go to ‘Advanced Settings’

Advanced Settings

MDI Mode (Check box): check this box to enable a multiple document interface. This gives a main container window within which all other sub-windows are created.

Look And Feel: select the appropriate look and feel option for your application. This will force the described look and feel, when possible, on the remote machine.

Applet Height & Width: The dimensions, in pixels, of the applet.  This should be set to meet the requirements of your application.

Embed Applet (Check box): Checking this box will mean the application runs as a web application. Having the application not embedded means you get floating windows when running as an applet.

Click ‘Next’ to go to the ‘Create File’ dialog

Create File Dialog

Create JNLP file for Java WebStart: This will open up the ‘Save In’ dialog and creates the JNLP file at the specified location.

Create HTML file for Java Applet: This will again open up the ‘Save In’ dialog and creates the HTML file at the specified location.

Save Settings: This option will save the settings used in this session so that next time ‘HTML & JNLP Creator’ is run it will have these settings as default.

5)      Click the appropriate ‘Create’ button (We create in our example both an applet and a .jnlp file.

The Save File window is displayed.

Save Dialog

6)      Browse the file tree to find the place where you want to store the HTML or JNLP file.  (This should be the location of your default Web server, described in the Note at the head of this section.)

7)      In the File name field, type the name of the file you want to create, with the .html or .jnlp extension, and click the Save button.  In our example, use the filename applet_text.html and jnlp_test.jnlp

It is now possible to test the ‘myprogram’ application as an embedded browser applet and as a Java Webstart jnlp.

Open a Web browser and, in the address field, type the URL (in this case, it is http://192.168.10.11/applet_test.html). 

Depending on your browser settings, you may need to confirm the execution of an applet.

The system may also ask the user to confirm the applet usage.