Oracle JDeveloper Question

Does anyone use Oracle JDev? If so, I have a couple of questions (if this is the right spot to post them).
1. Does Java have an 'executable' form it gets packaged into? I've been learning Java for awhile, but what about distributing it? How does that work? What if I want to package it and try running it on a different platform to really test the 'write once, run anywhere' idea?
2. How do I watch the value of variables when I'm debugging? I've seen it before, and I know how to set break points, etc. But I forgot how to get to the window needed to watch the data as the program runs. Any tips/tricks?
P.S. I AM reading through the docs on JDev...quite extensive, but also written mostly for people integrating with Oracle DB's....which I'm not right now....just using it for IDE....

Moving this to IDEs and other tools.

Originally posted by David Crossett:
1. Does Java have an 'executable' form it gets packaged into? I've been learning Java for awhile, but what about distributing it? How does that work? What if I want to package it and try running it on a different platform to really test the 'write once, run anywhere' idea?

On the Windows platform, you can double click a jar file and it will run if the manifest file is set up properly. There are also some free tools to create a .exe file from java code, but that ties it to Windows. I haven't looked at it, but I believe Java Web Start also allows for an executable style of environment.

1. Does Java have an 'executable' form it gets packaged into? I've been learning Java for awhile, but what about distributing it? How does that work? What if I want to package it and try running it on a different platform to really test the 'write once, run anywhere' idea?

The closest to an "executable" form is a .jar file with Main-Class attribute in its manifest file, I guess. In principle, you distribute your application classes (which do not need recompiling when moving onto a different platform) and assume that there is a spec-compliant JVM available on the target platform (or alternatively include a JRE for the target platform in your distribution).

OK, so what about this question: I haven't been on a Java development before, so in a non-applet centered environment (standalone or client/server), how is code distributed? I mean, if I wrote a really great program that rivaled Word or Excel (just kidding), how would I distribute it? I'm only familiar with old VB, where you can create and executable and use InstallShield or something like that to create directories and change registry settings. I'm still a beginner, but I'm trying to get an idea of the 'bigger picture'. For example, Oracle 9i seems to install through a Java-written interface. Is that an executable? How do we package this code so that it is transparent and just 'double click to start' to the end user? Thank you all for helping!

There's basically two options for getting the actual code to the client:
1) Distribute it as a .zip file or a cd or something. You can either provide platform-specific installation shell scripts, or use an installer product such as InstallAnywhere. The "executable" will actually be a shell script (start.bat, start.cmd, start.sh, or something similar), not an .exe, which starts a JVM (java.exe) and tells it to execute your code.
2) Distribute only a Java Web Start file which points to the code sitting on your server. When the user launches the file, the Java Web Start program installed on her machine will download the code (unless it's already downloaded in the local cache) and then execute it.
If there are other options that I've omitted, please correct me.

Sweet...so how do you package a Java Web Start package? I have 2 pc's networked...and I have Java Web Start (installed from previous things) on one of them...I'd like to create a package to install on my 'server' and run it from the first pc with Web Start already on it. Is there some tutorial for how to do this? It seems basic enough and a good place to start when actually distributing code. Thank you for all your help!!

This should get you started with Java Web Start.