Probably all those who at one time had the first models of mobile phones without the modern operating systems installed on them remember that at first software applets and most games were installed on such devices using JAD and JAR files, but the second was much more common, and not all models supported the work with the first data type. At the moment, in relation to mobile technology, the JAR format is considered somewhat outdated, however, even among Windows users, you can sometimes find questions about how to run the JAR file. This is what we will analyze further. But first, let's determine exactly what format it is.
What is a jar file?
Objects of this format themselves are special archives created on the basis of Java. Actually, the abbreviation in the name of this format came from the English Java Archive. In other words, files of this type belong to the most common packed data, however archives, when installed on some devices or when integrated into other environments, can be executed automatically as self-extracting archives like SFX. Thus, it becomes clear that working with this data type can be quite simple using well-known and applicable standard applications.
How to run a jar file on any mobile device?
First, a few words about the simplest launch of JAR files on mobile devices.
Any modern smartphone, tablet or even the most hopelessly outdated phone of one of the first generations of mobile technology has Java support. That is, the execution of such applets on them is completely elementary, if you select the file and press the button to confirm its opening (installation). On devices with a touch screen, you need to tap on the file, after which its contents will be installed in the form of an application or game.
How to open JAR format to view content?
With mobile devices, everything is pretty simple. But how to open a JAR file on a computer? Apparently, many drew attention to the fact that the name of the JAR archive is very consonant with the definition of the known type of packed RAR data. Indeed, it is.
And it is not surprising that you can open Java archives for viewing and unpacking quite simply using any of the currently known archivers (WinRAR, WinZIP, 7-Zip, etc.). Yes, but in this case, you can only view the contents of the archive or extract it if you need to save it to your hard drive or removable media. In this case we are not talking about any file launch and software installation! How to run a JAR file so that you can then work with the installed applet?
Is it possible to run a JAR object in a Windows environment, and what is needed for this
Alas, it is impossible to perform actions on launching files of this format by their own means on Windows systems, since there are no important components for starting, without which it is impossible to work with a file as with an installer. Therefore, before you run the JAR file on Windows, you must install the special Java JavaRE runtime (RE is derived from the Runtime Environment).
You can find the necessary software component directly on the official Internet resource of the developer, and after downloading and installing it, the file association will be automatically configured . Thus, it will even be possible to install some kind of Java application and use it to work even if it is not intended to function directly in the Windows environment.
Additional utilities
And this is far from the only way. In principle, today on the same Internet you can find a lot of additional programs that simplify working with Java archives to such an extent that you do not even need to install an executable environment.
For example, for Windows and for Linux, you can use a small program called Eclipse, which has a simple and intuitive interface, and the actions performed are as automated and simplified as possible.
And how to run the JAR file in the case of "apple" computers and laptops? And then there is a solution too!
To do this, you can use the equally simple and respectful utility called Apple Jar Launcher.
Finally, for professionals involved in programming, the developer envisaged the use of a special Java Development Kit (JDK), however, for comfortable work with it, the JRE executable environment is still needed. But this combination is perfect for creating your own applets of any level of complexity. Moreover, some programs can even be opened for viewing in the algorithms and commands used in their creation, since they can be open source, which for beginners can be quite a serious help in learning the basics of creating applications based on the Java language. By the way, although it is not the simplest among all known means of creating applications, it occupies a special place, since it is used almost everywhere (and not only on mobile or stationary platforms).
Brief Summary
That's all, albeit a short one, a description of the JAR format and the basics of working with such archives. As for the most suitable method for opening such files, everything will depend only on whether you just want to view the contents of the packed archive or use the object as the installer of the application with which you are supposed to work later. As you can see, in any situation, special difficulties or problems should not arise.