Overview

There are two methods for loading an application. One is to configure a single "fixed" application to be loaded and launched in the JavaStation boot. The other is to provide each client with a dialog window containing a list of applications to choose from. In the second case, JavaOS passes control to Application Launcher to do the following:

• Fetch and parse an HTML file containing a list of applications

• Display a graphical user interface (GUI) enabling the user to select an application from a pick list

• Perform the loading and launching of the target application

Applications are bundled as JAR or zip archives and are referenced by URLs. Application Launcher uses the java.util.zip classes to download and expand an application archive into a virtual RAM-based file system on the JavaStation. Since the application archive is referenced by a URL, it can reside anywhere on the network.

Application Launcher does not provide an environment to enable multiple applications to run on a single virtual machine. Only one application can run at a time.