What is the difference between 'java', 'javaw', and 'javaws'?

java java-web-start javaw
user705414 picture user705414 · Nov 19, 2011 · Viewed 175.8k times · Source

What is the difference between java, javaw, and javaws?

I have found that on Windows most usage of Java is done using javaw.

Answer

Andrew Thompson picture Andrew Thompson · Nov 19, 2011

See Java tools documentation for:

  1. The java tool launches a Java application. It does this by starting a Java runtime environment, loading a specified class, and invoking that class's main method.
  2. The javaw command is identical to java, except that with javaw there is no associated console window. Use javaw when you don't want a command prompt window to appear.

The javaws command launches Java Web Start, which is the reference implementation of the Java Network Launching Protocol (JNLP). Java Web Start launches Java applications/applets hosted on a network.

If a JNLP file is specified, javaws will launch the Java application/applet specified in the JNLP file.

The javaws launcher has a set of options that are supported in the current release. However, the options may be removed in a future release.

See also JDK 9 Release Notes Deprecated APIs, Features, and Options:

Java Deployment Technologies are deprecated and will be removed in a future release
Java Applet and WebStart functionality, including the Applet API, the Java plug-in, the Java Applet Viewer, JNLP and Java Web Start, including the javaws tool, are all deprecated in JDK 9 and will be removed in a future release.

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