On every other platform but Mac OSX, when I build and install a native package, the default working directory is "." to the JAR file. Even on OSX, if I delve inside the .app folder and manually run the JAR, the working directory is correct. However, if I run the application by simply clicking on the .app launcher, the working path ends up as "/Users/[username]
". Does anyone know how to configure the JavaFX native installer (perhaps info.plist?) to prevent this from occurring?
I think the launcher native executable sets this path. It is not plist configurable. The reasoning seemed to be in anticipation of OS X sandboxed applications and the limited file system access that they involve. So, basically there was no real good choice but they didn't want to encourage counting on access to the application bundle or it's parent directory.
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I am not a Mac owner and am putting myself through a crash course to get up to speed (e.g., reading "Switching to the Mac"), to give you an indication of my current level of understanding. The access I have to a physical Mac is limited, so I am trying to connect as many dots as possible before my next session with my friend's computer.
I have: a file folder containing all resources needed for a self-contained application written with Java (OpenJDK 11, JavaFX 11). The JLINK tool was successfully used to create this file folder, and it holds all necessary Java libraries as well as the code I wrote for the application. The executable resides in a subfolder: /bin. The program runs perfectly well on the Mac when the executable is run.
I want: something that is easy to download, install and run.
I'm unclear about what needs to be done to get this. The road map seems to have two main steps:
the file folder needs to be converted into something that responds as if it were an application (e.g., a Bundle? or an .app?)
the resulting folder-as-executable can be shipped via either .dmg or .pkg
For the second part, I've researched and found tools such as Packages or create-dmg. It seems to me these tools are pretty straightforward and shouldn't be too difficult to learn to use. (Just have to pick one or the other or something similar.)
For the first part, I'm on shaky conceptual ground. I've found info about Bundles, but no tutorials, walk-throughs or examples. It looks like a key step is understanding how to make a proper Info.plist file, but doing this properly looks tricky. Also, I'm not clear on how the resulting Bundle will become an .app file or if it needs to, or if there is another, more direct way to make my file folder be viewed by the OS as an application.
Some hand-holding or references to tutorials or even assurance that I am on the right track (if that is the case) would be much appreciated. Thanks!
The Java Deployment guide from Oracle relies heavily on ANT, but doesn't cover the case of a self-contained, customized JVM via JLINK well enough for me to decipher. So, I've taken the approach of trying to learn/understand the necessary steps using command-line commands.
While creating a Bundle is certainly an option, there is an easier way.
Step one is to make an .app manually. An answer to this question: "How to make a Mac OS X .app with a shell script?" goes over the basic steps. The Java file system that results from jlinking has a folder /bin in which there is a bash file that runs the program. This file should be moved to the outermost folder, and it should be named the desired name of the application. The bash file itself will have to be edited and "/bin" added to the address in last command so that the executable will be found. In addition, the folder itself will have to be renamed to be the same as the bash file, but with .app added as an extension.
The next thing I wanted to have was a custom icon. The question "Include icon in manually created app bundle" shows how to do this.
For the next step I made use of the program "Packages". I'm a bit confused about where I downloaded this from (there seem to be multiple sites), but here is a link to the manual. This tool allowed me to create a .pkg file that, when executed, installs my .app in the Applications folder. Then I compressing the .pkg file (to .zip) and made it available at a URL for downloading.
I've had a friend do a test download and install, and the program works!
This isn't meant to be a complete tutorial, and there are a few steps more that I want to figure out pertaining to sandboxing and sealing, but I believe this is a reasonable roadmap that can be used for simpler jlinked Java applications for Mac distribution.
I'm new to developing Mac OSX apps via Delphi (Berlin) and don't know where to put resource files. In Windows I can write ImageControl1.LoadFromFile('aFile.png'); and know that's referencing the directory where my executable is located. Or I can do something like make and reference the path to a separate directory where I'm putting resources.
But I don't know where to put resources or how their paths work when developing on a Windows machine for an app that'll be compiled and run on a Mac. I tried putting an image file in the Delphi project's OSX subdirectory as well as entering a complete path, i.e., LoadFromFile('path/goes/here'). I also tried using forward and backward slashes in the path name expression. In each case I got an error (when compiling for Mac, not Windows). I'm sort of thinking the files should live on the Mac somewhere...but I'm lost.
I'm hoping someone could tell me where to put these kinds of resource files, or how to properly reference them, when developing Mac apps on a Windows machine (or, alternatively, a good reference or two that'll explain it to me ... I looked online but couldn't find an answer).
There's some info about the structure of macOS app bundles, here:
https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/CoreFoundation/Conceptual/CFBundles/BundleTypes/BundleTypes.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/10000123i-CH101-SW19
In the Delphi Deployment Manager, resources can be deployed to a remote path of:
Contents\Resources\
And subfolders thereof. The following code should return the root of the .app package:
NSStrToStr(TNSBundle.Wrap(TNSBundle.OCClass.mainBundle).bundlePath)
Add /Contents/Resources (and applicable subfolders) to that path, and you can load the deployed files from there
I have a Qt app that uses Assistant to display help.
On Mac, I am packaging he Assistant inside the bundle. The only way I can include all its libraries is by placing the Assistant executable inside the same MacOS folder as the app executable, and properly link all the library dependencies.
Is there a way to place information about both executables in the Info.plist ?
No, you can't put info about multiple executables inside the same Info.plist. (Well, you an always puts custom keys into the Info.plist and store whatever property list data you like there, but the system won't pay any attention to those keys.)
Why not bundle the Assistant into its own bundle and put that bundle inside the main app's bundle? The Assistant bundle would have its own Info.plist file. Also, if you create a question about whatever linking or dynamic loading problems made you think you had to put it all into the main bundle, you might find there's a better solution.
placing the Assistant executable inside the same MacOS folder
I recommend not to do this. The Assistant is a resource to the main application and so it should reside in the resources folder. If you want to launch the Assistant app from the main app, you can then locate it by name.
You can only define one application in the Info.plist. If you were to add more, there would be a conflict in keys.
For example, CFBundleIdentifier is a unique URI that names the bundle (e.g. com.apple.calculator). The OS uses the URI to register the application with the OS when an application is, for example, copied to the /Applications folder. The OS expects the key to be a child of the root dictionary and its value must be unique. If there were multiple keys named CFBundleIdentifier, it would not know which is valid.
Although you can throw almost any junk into a Mac application bundle, much good will not come to you.
If I understand right, you have both a Mac Application (bundled normally) and a side-application you call the "Assistant" you want embedded in the same application bundle.
You also mention libraries (.dylib's I guess) that must reside in the same directory as the assistant.
Now - if these libraries are only used by the Assistant side-application, I would recommend that you bundle the assistant as a Code-bundle (Apple provides lots of information about these, and you have easy to use templates from Xcode). You can then use Xcode to copy it into the right place within the main application's bundle (I'd choose "Plugins") and use NSBundle APIs to launch it.
However, if those .dylibs are shared between the main app and the assistant - then I'd say go ahead, stick your assistant, .dylibs and main app's binary files in the same "MacOS-X" directory, and use posix APIs, or shell command to launch the assistant. Of course it will share (if possible) every resource of the main application, because they are located at the same place. However, the main app's bundle can only have ONE CFBundleExecutable entry, and that should point to your main application's binary.
I created an OSGi project in which one I've 2 projects :
- one plugin project : that contains my source files, my product configuration that uses my feature project and the feature org.eclipse.equinox.p2.ui.user. It means that my program is able to install new software or to update the program.
- one feature project that contains my plugin project.
I can run my program into eclipse, It works. I can export my product configuration from eclipse and then launching my program : it works.
After that, I'd like to build automaticaly my program with the framework PDE of eclipse. I followed this tutorial : http://help.eclipse.org/help32/index.jsp?topic=/org.eclipse. pde.doc.user/guide/tasks/pde_product_build.htm . I'm able to generate my program for Windows,Linux and Mac os. The executables of windows and linux work. However, the executable of mac os doesn't work.
When I click on the icon, nothing happens and I've no error. To be able to launch on mac os, I've to replace the file myExecutable.app/Contents/MacOS/eclipse by the one of Eclipse.app/Contents/MacOS/eclipse. It seams that the file "eclipse" of my generated executable is not in the right format.
Do you know what is the reason of this problem? Or maybe if you have a clue for me to solve that.
Thank you very much,
Bat
If you right click on myExecutable.app and select 'Show Package Contents', you can drill in to find the actual executable. You can run this from a shell prompt and see any error output. You can also find the logs in the structure hidden inside the .app.
I'd recommending comparing the eclipse.ini files for your executable app and the one from Eclipse that is working for you. There may be a option that you are missing that you can add to your .product Mac OS X specific options.
I am writing a Cocoa application that makes use of the ParseKit framework (http://www.parsekit.com/). I've included the Framework in the proper folder, added a Copy Files build phase, and added it to the build phase. I can build and launch the application on my Mac.
However, when I try to run it on another Mac, it crashes. The Console shows the following error message:
dyld: Library not loaded: /Users/Jordan/Files/ParseKit/build/Debug/ParseKit.framework/Versions/A/ParseKit
It looks like when the app launches, it is looking for the framework on my local drive. However, the framework is in the Copy Files build phase, so it has been copied into that application's Contents/Frameworks folder. If if the application were looking in this folder, it would be able to load the framework just fine, but for some reason it's looking for it on my local drive on the original Mac (which obviously doesn't exist on the other Mac).
What am I doing wrong?
Use install_name_tool to change the framework’s install path to “#loader_path/../Frameworks/”.
Since it sounds like you're building it from source, set the install path in its Xcode project. You should submit a patch to the original developers once you get it working (partly to make it easier for you to keep up with future updates to the framework).