How do I run a Java program from the command line on Windows?
How do I run a Java program from the command line on Windows?
Question
I'm trying to execute a Java program from the command line in Windows. Here is my code:
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
public class CopyFile
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
InputStream inStream = null;
OutputStream outStream = null;
try
{
File afile = new File("input.txt");
File bfile = new File("inputCopy.txt");
inStream = new FileInputStream(afile);
outStream = new FileOutputStream(bfile);
byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
int length;
// copy the file content in bytes
while ((length = inStream.read(buffer)) > 0)
{
outStream.write(buffer, 0, length);
}
inStream.close();
outStream.close();
System.out.println("File is copied successful!");
}
catch (IOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
I'm not sure how to execute the program - any help? Is this possible on Windows? Why is it different than another environment (I thought JVM was write once, run anywhere)?
Accepted Answer
Source: javaindos.
Let's say your file is in C:\mywork\
Run Command Prompt
C:\> cd \mywork
This makes C:\mywork the current directory.
C:\mywork> dir
This displays the directory contents. You should see filenamehere.java among the files.
C:\mywork> set path=%path%;C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.5.0_09\bin
This tells the system where to find JDK programs.
C:\mywork> javac filenamehere.java
This runs javac.exe, the compiler. You should see nothing but the next system prompt...
C:\mywork> dir
javac has created the filenamehere.class file. You should see filenamehere.java and filenamehere.class among the files.
C:\mywork> java filenamehere
This runs the Java interpreter. You should then see your program output.
If the system cannot find javac, check the set path command. If javac runs but you get errors, check your Java text. If the program compiles but you get an exception, check the spelling and capitalization in the file name and the class name and the java HelloWorld command. Java is case-sensitive!
Popular Answer
To complete the answer :
The Java File
TheJavaFile.java
Compile the Java File to a *.class file
javac TheJavaFile.java
- This will create a
TheJavaFile.class
file
- This will create a
Execution of the Java File
java TheJavaFile
Creation of an executable
*.jar
fileYou've got two options here -
With an external manifest file :
Create the manifest file say - MANIFEST.mf
The MANIFEST file is nothing but an explicit entry of the Main Class
jar -cvfm TheJavaFile.jar MANIFEST.mf TheJavaFile.class
Executable by Entry Point:
jar -cvfe TheJavaFile.jar <MainClass> TheJavaFile.class
To run the Jar File
java -jar TheJavaFile.jar
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In case your Java class is in some package. Suppose your Java class named ABC.java
is present in com.hello.programs
, then you need to run it with the package name.
Compile it in the usual way:
C:\SimpleJavaProject\src\com\hello\programs > javac ABC.java
But to run it, you need to give the package name and then your java class name:
C:\SimpleJavaProject\src > java com.hello.programs.ABC
Complile a Java file to generate a class:
javac filename.java
Execute the generated class:
java filename
It is easy. If you have saved your file as A.text first thing you should do is save it as A.java. Now it is a Java file.
Now you need to open cmd and set path to you A.java file before compile it. you can refer this for that.
Then you can compile your file using command
javac A.java
Then run it using
java A
So that is how you compile and run a java program in cmd. You can also go through these material that is Java in depth lessons. Lot of things you need to understand in Java is covered there for beginners.
You can compile any java source using javac in command line ; eg, javac CopyFile.java. To run : java CopyFile. You can also compile all java files using javac *.java as long as they're in the same directory
If you're having an issue resulting with "could not find or load main class" you may not have jre in your path. Have a look at this question: Could not find or load main class
Since Java 11, java
command line tool has been able to run a single-file source-code directly. e.g.
java HelloWorld.java
This was an enhancement with JEP 330: https://openjdk.java.net/jeps/330
For the details of the usage and the limitations, see the manual of your Java implementation such as one provided by Oracle: https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/tools/java.html