Version 1.0
December 29, 2011
Copyright 2011 by Jamal Mazrui
GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)

----------

Contents

Description

JWin is a convenient setup program for detecting and installing the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) on Windows, as well as the associated Java Access Bridge (JAB), which is needed for full accessibility of Java applications to assistive technologies used by persons with disabilities. The intent is to open up more Java applications on Windows by making it easy to add accessibility support. The home page of the JAB is
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/tech/index-jsp-136191.html

Operation

The executable, JWin_setup.exe, may be run under either 32 or 64-bit Windows. It creates an installation directory containing JAB reference material, a log file, and an uninstallation program to later remove the JAB, if desired. It looks for locations of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), and offers to install the JAB into them. Three possible directories are identified: (1) the directory of a 32-bit JRE; (2) the directory of a 64-bit JRE; and (3) the directory referenced by the JAVA_HOME environment variable. In a JRE directory structure, the main executable, java.exe, would be located in the bin subdirectory.

The setup program searches the Windows registry for the Java32 and Java64 directories. If more than one JRE is found in the 32-bit or 64-bit view of the registry, the directory of the highest Java version is used. By convention, it corresponds to a registry value named CurrentVersion. The current set of environment variables is also searched, ignoring case, for a name called JAVA_HOME. By convention, it may be set to the preferred JVM on the computer.

Thus, on 32-bit Windows, the program may possibly install the JAB twice when run: once for the registry location and once for the Java_Home location. On 64-bit Windows, it may possibly install the JAB three times: once for the 32-bit registry location, once for the 64-bit registry location, and once for the JAVA_HOME location. The "Ready to Install" page of the setup wizard lists the JRE locations that are found as targets for the JAB.

If no JRE is found, the program offers to go to the web page for installing Java,
http://java.com/getjava/

The setup program opens a log file when done. A subsequent run of the executable updates files as needed, and adds another log file. The JAB may be installed into any JRE location on the computer by first setting the JAVA_HOME environment variable to point to the relevant directory before running the setup program. For example, one could run JWin_setup.exe at a command prompt after specifying a JAVA_HOME variable with a command like the following:

set JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\JDK 1.6\JRE

JWin log files are stored in its program directory, wich by default is
C:\JWin

Also installed in that directory are this documentation,
JWin.txt
JWin.htm

the Pascal Script source code for the setup program,
JWin_setup.iss

documentation about manually installing the JAB, upon which automation by JWin is based,
Installing Java Access Bridge.htm

a copy of the JAB distribution archive,
accessbridge-2_0_2-fcs-bin-b06.zip

demo programs it includes for testing the JAB,
JavaFerret.exe
JavaFerret-32.exe
JavaFerret-64.exe

the open source license for JWin,
lgpl-3.0.txt

and an executable for uninstalling the JAB and JWin, having a default path of
C:\JWin\unins000.exe

The setup program also creates a JWin program group in the Windows Start Menu, containing shortcuts to read JWin documentation, view the license, or uninstall the software.

Change Log

Version 1.0 on December 29, 2011
First official release

Beta 1.0 on December 27, 2011
Added support for the JAVA_HOME environment variable as another location for the JAB to be installed. Improved documentation about the Java detection techniques.

Beta 0.8 on December 26, 2011
Made changes to fix compatibility on 32-bit Windows. The setup program now only replaces JAB files found with newer ones.

Development Notes

The latest version of JWin is available at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/JWin_setup.exe

A zip archive containing the source code and component files, but not the binary executable, is at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/JWin_setup.zip

This documentation is also directly available online at
http://EmpowermentZone.com/JWin.htm

JWin was developed with the free, open source installation software called Inno Setup, available at
http://InnoSetup.org

The script file, JWin_setup.iss, may be modified and recompiled for custom installations. It assumes that all needed files are in the C:\JWin directory.

I welcome feedback, suggestions, and code contributions that will help JWin improve over time. When reporting a problem, the more specifics the better, including steps to reproduce it, if possible.

Jamal Mazrui
jamal@empowermentzone.com