javax.tools.JavaCompiler and jar files

gimbal2 wrote:
best guess: the working directory is different.

No. I tested it and they are the same

JoachimSauer wrote:
next best guess: the system is set up to execute your code with a different JVM when double-clicking and when executing from the command line.

How can I set up the system so that both use the same JVM ?

JoachimSauer wrote:
The JVM used on the command line depends on the PATH environment variable, the other one depends on the file extension association. Google around how to check and/or change those.

Thank you very much.

I could change the action associated with the JAR file extension to use the JDK bin instead of the JRE one. That solved the problem.

So, now I have to do the following to get my application to compile source code:

1. Set the path to the JDK bin directory (not the JRE one).
2. Be sure to put the JDK bin directory at the begining of the path.
3. Set the action associated with the JAR file extension correctly (I could do that on Windows 2000 and XP but could not find a way to do it on Vista).

I found another way to solve the problem without the need to do the previous steps. I just have to set the "java.home" system property. This solution is better for me for the following reasons:

1. The application will run on the client side, and I would prefer not to bother the user with the previous steps.
2. If the user cannot do step # 3, s/he will not be able to use the application at all.

What worries me about my solution is that one system property "java.home" will point to one JVM and the other system properties will point to another JVM. But, does that matter anyway ?

In setting "java.home" to find the java compiler, I found something that I couldn't explain:

The following sequence finds the compiler:

JavaCompiler JC;
System.setProperty ( "java.home","JDK jre directory" );
JC = ToolProvider.getSystemJavaCompiler();

The following sequence does not find the compiler:

JavaCompiler JC;
JC = ToolProvider.getSystemJavaCompiler();
if ( JC == null )
  {
    System.setProperty ( "java.home","JDK jre directory" );
    JC = ToolProvider.getSystemJavaCompiler();
  }