Class LaunchTask

java.lang.Object
org.apache.tools.ant.ProjectComponent
org.apache.tools.ant.Task
org.apache.commons.launcher.LaunchTask
All Implemented Interfaces:
Cloneable

public class LaunchTask extends org.apache.tools.ant.Task
A class that eliminates the need for a batch or shell script to launch a Java class. Some situations where elimination of a batch or shell script may be desirable are:
  • You want to avoid having to determining where certain application paths are e.g. your application's home directory, etc. Determining this dynamically in a Windows batch scripts is very tricky on some versions of Windows or when softlinks are used on Unix platforms.
  • You want to avoid having to handle native file and path separators or native path quoting issues.
  • You need to enforce certain system properties e.g. java.endorsed.dirs when running with JDK 1.4.
  • You want to allow users to pass in custom JVM arguments or system properties without having to parse and reorder arguments in your script. This can be tricky and/or messy in batch and shell scripts.
  • You want to bootstrap system properties from a configuration file instead hard-coding them in your batch and shell scripts.
  • You want to provide localized error messages which is very tricky to do in batch and shell scripts.
Author:
Patrick Luby
  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    static final String
    The argument property name.
    static final String
    The name of this task.

    Fields inherited from class org.apache.tools.ant.Task

    target, taskName, taskType, wrapper

    Fields inherited from class org.apache.tools.ant.ProjectComponent

    description, location, project
  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Constructor
    Description
     
  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    void
    Add a nested arg element.
    void
    Add a nested argset element.
    void
    Add a nested jvmarg element.
    void
    Add a nested jvmargset element.
    void
    Add a nested sysproperty element.
    void
    Add a nested syspropertyset element.
    org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path
    Create a nested classpath element.
    org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path
    Create a nested filter classpath element.
    void
    Construct a Java command and execute it using the settings that Ant parsed from the Launcher's XML file.
    static Process[]
    Get the synchronous child processes for all instances of this class.
    void
    setAppendoutput(boolean appendOutput)
    Set the appendOutput flag.
    void
    setClassname(String mainClassName)
    Set the class name.
    void
    setClasspath(org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path classpath)
    Set the classpath.
    void
    setClasspathref(org.apache.tools.ant.types.Reference ref)
    Adds a reference to a classpath defined elsewhere.
    void
    setDebug(boolean debug)
    Set the debug flag.
    void
    setDisplayminimizedwindow(boolean displayMinimizedWindow)
    Set the displayMinimizedWindow flag.
    void
    setDisposeminimizedwindow(boolean disposeMinimizedWindow)
    Set the disposeMinimizedWindow flag.
    void
    setFailonerror(boolean failOnError)
    Set the failOnError flag.
    void
    setFilterclassname(String filterClassName)
    Set the filter class name.
    void
    setFilterclasspath(org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path filterClasspath)
    Set the filter class' classpath.
    void
    setMinimizedwindowicon(File minimizedWindowIcon)
    Set the icon file for the minimized window that will be displayed in the Windows taskbar.
    void
    setMinimizedwindowtitle(String minimizedWindowTitle)
    Set the title for the minimized window that will be displayed in the Windows taskbar.
    void
    setOutput(File outputFile)
    Set the file that the child JVM's System.out and System.err will be redirected to.
    void
    setPrint(boolean print)
    Set the print flag.
    void
    setRedirectoutput(boolean redirect)
    Set the redirect flag.
    void
    setRequiretools(boolean requireTools)
    Set the requireTools flag.
    void
    setUseargs(boolean useArgs)
    Set the useArgs flag.
    void
    setUsesystemin(boolean useSystemIn)
    Set the useSystemIn flag.
    void
    setWaitforchild(boolean waitForChild)
    Set the waitForChild flag.

    Methods inherited from class org.apache.tools.ant.Task

    bindToOwner, getOwningTarget, getRuntimeConfigurableWrapper, getTaskName, getTaskType, getWrapper, handleErrorFlush, handleErrorOutput, handleFlush, handleInput, handleOutput, init, isInvalid, log, log, log, log, maybeConfigure, perform, reconfigure, setOwningTarget, setRuntimeConfigurableWrapper, setTaskName, setTaskType

    Methods inherited from class org.apache.tools.ant.ProjectComponent

    clone, getDescription, getLocation, getProject, setDescription, setLocation, setProject

    Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

    equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
  • Field Details

  • Constructor Details

    • LaunchTask

      public LaunchTask()
  • Method Details

    • getChildProcesses

      public static Process[] getChildProcesses()
      Get the synchronous child processes for all instances of this class.
      Returns:
      the instances of this class.
    • addArg

      public void addArg(ConditionalArgument arg)
      Add a nested arg element. Note that Ant will not invoke the specified arg object's setter methods until after Ant invokes this method so processing of the specified arg object is handled in the execute() method.
      Parameters:
      arg - the arg element
    • addArgset

      public void addArgset(ArgumentSet set)
      Add a nested argset element.
      Parameters:
      set - the argset element
    • addJvmarg

      public void addJvmarg(ConditionalArgument jvmArg)
      Add a nested jvmarg element. Note that Ant will not invoke the specified jvmarg object's setter methods until after Ant invokes this method so processing of the specified jvmarg object is handled in the execute() method.
      Parameters:
      jvmArg - the jvmarg element
    • addJvmargset

      public void addJvmargset(JVMArgumentSet set)
      Add a nested jvmargset element.
      Parameters:
      set - the jvmargset element
    • addSysproperty

      public void addSysproperty(ConditionalVariable var)
      Add a nested sysproperty element. Note that Ant will not invoke the specified sysproperty object's setter methods until after Ant invokes this method so processing of the specified sysproperty object is handled in the execute() method.
      Parameters:
      var - the sysproperty element
    • addSyspropertyset

      public void addSyspropertyset(SysPropertySet set)
      Add a nested syspropertyset element.
      Parameters:
      set - the syspropertyset element
    • createClasspath

      public org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path createClasspath()
      Create a nested classpath element.
      Returns:
      the Path object that contains all nested classpath elements
    • createFilterclasspath

      public org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path createFilterclasspath()
      Create a nested filter classpath element.
      Returns:
      the Path object that contains all nested filter classpath elements
    • execute

      public void execute() throws org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException
      Construct a Java command and execute it using the settings that Ant parsed from the Launcher's XML file. This method is called by the Ant classes.
      Overrides:
      execute in class org.apache.tools.ant.Task
      Throws:
      org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException - if there is a configuration or other error
    • setUseargs

      public void setUseargs(boolean useArgs)
      Set the useArgs flag. Setting this flag to true will cause this task to append all of the command line arguments used to start the Launcher.start(String[]) method to the arguments passed to the child JVM.
      Parameters:
      useArgs - the useArgs flag
    • setUsesystemin

      public void setUsesystemin(boolean useSystemIn)
      Set the useSystemIn flag. Setting this flag to false will cause this task to not read System.in. This will cause the child JVM to never receive any bytes when it reads System.in. Setting this flag to false is useful in some Unix environments where processes cannot be put in the background when they read System.in.
      Parameters:
      useSystemIn - the useSystemIn flag
    • setWaitforchild

      public void setWaitforchild(boolean waitForChild)
      Set the waitForChild flag. Setting this flag to true will cause this task to wait for the child JVM to finish executing before the task completes. Setting this flag to false will cause this task to complete immediately after it starts the execution of the child JVM. Setting it false emulates the "&" background operator in most Unix shells and is most of set to false when launching server or GUI applications.
      Parameters:
      waitForChild - the waitForChild flag
    • setClassname

      public void setClassname(String mainClassName)
      Set the class name.
      Parameters:
      mainClassName - the class to execute main(String[])
    • setClasspath

      public void setClasspath(org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path classpath)
      Set the classpath.
      Parameters:
      classpath - the classpath
    • setClasspathref

      public void setClasspathref(org.apache.tools.ant.types.Reference ref)
      Adds a reference to a classpath defined elsewhere.
      Parameters:
      ref - reference to the classpath
    • setDebug

      public void setDebug(boolean debug)
      Set the debug flag. Setting this flag to true will cause this task to run the child JVM using the JDB debugger.
      Parameters:
      debug - the debug flag
    • setDisplayminimizedwindow

      public void setDisplayminimizedwindow(boolean displayMinimizedWindow)
      Set the displayMinimizedWindow flag. Note that this flag has no effect on non-Windows platforms. On Windows platform, setting this flag to true will cause a minimized window to be displayed in the Windows task bar while the child process is executing. This flag is usually set to true for server applications that also have their "waitForChild" attribute set to false via the setWaitforchild(boolean) method.
      Parameters:
      displayMinimizedWindow - true if a minimized window should be displayed in the Windows task bar while the child process is executing
    • setDisposeminimizedwindow

      public void setDisposeminimizedwindow(boolean disposeMinimizedWindow)
      Set the disposeMinimizedWindow flag. Note that this flag has no effect on non-Windows platforms. On Windows platform, setting this flag to true will cause any minimized window that is display by setting the "displayMinimizedWindow" attribute to true via the setDisplayminimizedwindow(boolean) to be automatically disposed of when the child JVM's main(String[]) returns. This flag is normally used for applications that don't explicitly call System.exit(int). If an application does not explicitly call System.exit(int), an minimized windows need to be disposed of for the child JVM to exit.
      Parameters:
      disposeMinimizedWindow - true if a minimized window in the Windows taskbar should be automatically disposed of after the child JVM's main(String[]) returns
    • setFailonerror

      public void setFailonerror(boolean failOnError)
      Set the failOnError flag.
      Parameters:
      failOnError - true if the launch process should stop if the child JVM returns an exit value other than 0
    • setFilterclassname

      public void setFilterclassname(String filterClassName)
      Set the filter class name.
      Parameters:
      filterClassName - the class that implements the LaunchFilter interface
    • setFilterclasspath

      public void setFilterclasspath(org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path filterClasspath)
      Set the filter class' classpath.
      Parameters:
      classpath - the classpath for the filter class
    • setMinimizedwindowtitle

      public void setMinimizedwindowtitle(String minimizedWindowTitle)
      Set the title for the minimized window that will be displayed in the Windows taskbar. Note that this property has no effect on non-Windows platforms.
      Parameters:
      minimizedWindowTitle - the title to set for any minimized window that is displayed in the Windows taskbar
    • setMinimizedwindowicon

      public void setMinimizedwindowicon(File minimizedWindowIcon)
      Set the icon file for the minimized window that will be displayed in the Windows taskbar. Note that this property has no effect on non-Windows platforms.
      Parameters:
      minimizedWindowIcon - the icon file to use for any minimized window that is displayed in the Windows taskbar
    • setOutput

      public void setOutput(File outputFile)
      Set the file that the child JVM's System.out and System.err will be redirected to. Output will only be redirected if the redirect flag is set to true via the setRedirectoutput(boolean) method.
      Parameters:
      outputFile - a File to redirect System.out and System.err to
    • setPrint

      public void setPrint(boolean print)
      Set the print flag. Setting this flag to true will cause the full child JVM command to be printed to System.out.
      Parameters:
      print - the print flag
    • setAppendoutput

      public void setAppendoutput(boolean appendOutput)
      Set the appendOutput flag. Setting this flag to true will cause the child JVM to append System.out and System.err to the file specified by the setOutput(File) method. Setting this flag to false will cause the child to overwrite the file.
      Parameters:
      appendOutput - true if output should be appended to the output file
    • setRedirectoutput

      public void setRedirectoutput(boolean redirect)
      Set the redirect flag. Setting this flag to true will cause the child JVM's System.out and System.err to be redirected to file set using the setOutput(File) method. Setting this flag to false will cause no redirection.
      Parameters:
      redirect - true if System.out and System.err should be redirected
    • setRequiretools

      public void setRequiretools(boolean requireTools)
      Set the requireTools flag. Setting this flag to true will cause the JVM's tools.jar to be added to the child JVM's classpath. This sets an explicit requirement that the user use a JDK instead of a JRE. Setting this flag to false explicitly allows the user to use a JRE.
      Parameters:
      redirect - true if a JDK is required and false if only a JRE is required