JAR and JAVADOC

JAR Files

Jar files, or Java Archive Files, are a platform independet form of zipped/compressed files. They come in two varieties,

Standard Jar Files - hold any files you want to compress together
Executable Jar Files - hold .class, .gif, .jpg, files needed for a particular application. These files can be placed on your desktop and executed like .EXE files.

Steps to create an Executable JAR file in NETBEANS:

Run your program at least once to be sure the main class is set

in the projects window, right click on the project, select "Properties" menu
under categories, select "run"
verify the main class is set correctly.

Under the Run menu item, select Clean and Build Main Project
Your Jar file will be created in your project folder under the dist sub folder.

Other notes:

You can open a Jar file using Winzip, and execute a Jar file from your desktop by doubling clicking on it (You need to have the Java runtime environment installed).
Many students have downloaded and installed unzip utilities that take control of the JAR extension (e.g. WinRAR), disabling the ability to execute the JAR by doubling clicking on it. You'll need to change the JAR file type (under Folder Options in Windows My-Computer Tools) to use JavaW to open the file.

JAVADOC in Netbeans

JavaDoc are HTML files the javadoc utility creates directly from your source code (.java files). In order for the utility to create useful files you must add correct JAVADOC style comments to your code. This can be done manually or by turning on the Javdoc hints under the options menu.
Javadoc Hints

to turn on, open "Tools", then "Options", then click on.the "Editor" icon
turn on the check mark next to Javadoc on the general tab
under the "hints" tab, turn on javadoc, "create javadoc", and "error javadoc", for both of these, set the level to "private" this gives you a warning on all your methods (not just the public/protected ones).
after you write a method, add the /** comment prior to the method and Netbeans will add in Javadoc information template
if your method is missing javadoc comments, then a lightbulb hint will appear to the left of the method.

Turning on JavaDoc options

In the projects window, right click on your project and select the "Properties" menu item.
Then click on Build-Documenting
Finally, turn on the "include private and public", "version", "author", and fill in the title box.

Note: As of Netbeans 7.0, JavaDocs won't be created for .java files in the default package. You must create a package and have your .java files there.
Run javadoc and create HTML files for the entire project.

select the project name in the Projects window, then from the Run menu select Generate Javadoc menu item.
you should be able to view these files using your browser. the files will be located in dist\javadoc folder of your project.

Some basic guidelines for documenting your code:

1) Document every class, method and attribute
2) For attributes a single line comment is sufficient describing what it is used for, e.g.

/** used to hold the customer's name */
String name;

3) For methods (including constructors) in addition to describing what the method does you should have a separate @param tag for each parameter and an @return tag if the method returns a value. E.g.

/**
   * This method computes the circumference of a circle with a given radius
   *
   * @param radius radius of the circle
   * @return returns the circumference
   */
       float circumference(float radius)

4) Classes should have sufficient comments to describe their behavior (i.e. a short paragraph). Include the @author tag and the @version tags.

/**
* This is my class. Here is what it does.
*
* @author Fred Flintstone
* @version 1.0
*/
public class MyClass {

}

5) Remember, JAVADOC comments must come immediately before the class, method, or attribute definition.

6) The key to reuse is good documentation!