Packafied and Java

Why Java?

Applications written in Java are supported across all platforms that have a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) written for that platform. That means that Packafied should run on Windows 95, NT, Mac OS, OS/2, and whatever other platform supports Java.

How do I run it?

Java programs are contained in many Class files. To run Packafied, you must run the class called PackafiedApp. Java is very particular on case, so preserve the capital letters!

Running Packafied on different systems require different methods. Refer to the Packafied Home Page for details on running Packafied on different platforms.

Why isn't it running?

Since Java is fairly new, it is not yet integrated into many operating systems. And even if you have a copy of Java somewhere on your system, there is no guarentee that it is the correct version. My advice is to download a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for your platform. Refer to the Packafied Home Page for information on where to get the most up-to-date JRE for your platform.

I'm happy to say that Packafied now should work with Micorosft's JVM. You will need the latest version you can get. Any version 5 or later should work properly. Microsoft's JVM can be run by typing jview at the command prompt. jview can also be used in shortcuts etc. in place of jre.exe. To find out your version of Microsoft JVM, type jview at the command prompt. The version will be displayed in the top line. Don't even try to run Packafied if that number is below 5!

Java and slowness

Many people think that Java is slow. They are right. Programs written in Java are always slower than their equivalents written in C++. But, often it does not matter, because many programs don't require 100% of the CPU all of the time. Packafied doesn't rely on heavy computational power. It is slowed down only by the speed of your hard disk, not the CPU, through most operations. It's just a Package file editor, not a super scientific calculator! I've found that disk operations, such as deleting and replacing files are quite fast, considering these operations usually involve rewriting the entire file (which can be 20-30 MB or more!)