Distribution
Overview [ PENDING
]
Today, Marimba’s ‘Castanet’ -> "push" technology
Distribution and incremental update via Internet.
a channel upload,
update and run from Castanet Tuner
a self-extracting and self-installing Java application
download, install and run on Java Virtual Machine
a trusted Java applet
download and run from a WWW browser
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Distributing
as Marimba's 'Castanet' Channel
Introduction
Distributing software updates and information over networks is one of the
major issues developers of client/server systems encounter today. To solve
that problem, Marimba has developed a family of products called Castanet.
This family features the emerging push/pull
technology.
Push means that the server sends itself information to clients. It
allows client software updates as soon as they become available.
Among Push players like PointCast,
The Internet Company, Starwave,
Intermind, Ifusion, BackWeb,
Netscape, Microsoft,
Tibco , Marimba is today the only one
managing Java Channels. What's more Netscape has signed a worldwide
reseller agreement with Marimba to distribute and support the Castanet
product line.
In the Castanet family of products, we have tested the Tuner, the Transmitter
and the Publisher.
This document presents how to use these software to create a channel
(an application distributed and managed by the Castanet system) from an
existing application, the Java
Infotorg application. The first part introduces the Castanet principles.
The second part explains the different steps to publish and use a channel
through the example of the Java Infotorg channel.
You can find the Marimba products specifications at the end of this document.
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What is a Castanet channel ?
A Castanet channel is a software application distributed and managed by
the Castanet system.
Here is the Castanet architecture :
You can see two main elements in the figure above
: the Tuner and the Transmitter.
The Tuner enables to download and launch channels
sent by the Transmitter over the Internet. The Tuner runs on the
computer of the end user. You install it like any other client software.
Once it is installed, it updates itself.
The Castanet Transmitter runs on a server machine
and serves versions of channel files to Tuners. It can be installed
on any machine (see the hardware
and system requirements in this document) supporting the Java
Runtime Environment.
A channel developer can use a development transmitter on his own computer
to test his channels. Once channels work properly, they can be published
on the production
transmitter thanks to the Castanet Publisher software.
Castanet channels are Java applications
Although the Castanet system is capable of distributing and updating any
kind of file, its initial focus is on Java applications called channels.
This is because Java has the best-developed security system for downloaded
software and because Java is an excellent language for writing multi-platform
software.
For a presentation of Java, you can consult the result
of the evaluation of Java 
by Sema Group Corporate R&D and the Javasoft
web site.
Castanet channels combine the best of Java
applets and applications
Castanet channels combine the best of Java applets and applications. Like
applets, channels are:
-
Multi-platform: The same code can run on Windows 95, Solaris, or
any other platform supporting Java.
-
Downloaded: You do not get a channel from a floppy disk or a CDROM,
you get it from the network.
-
Secure: Channels are subject to the same constraints (with one relaxation)
as Java applets.
Like applications, channels are:
-
Stand-alone: Channels can run in their own windows, not only in
a Web browser.
-
Local: Channels are stored on the hard disk where they are available
when the network is not.
-
Persistent: Channels can read and write into one designated directory
of the hard disk, preserving channel documents and preferences without
threatening files that do not belong to them.
Unlike either applets or applications, channels are:
-
Automatically installed: You only need to download the channel with
the Tuner. The channel will be immediately usable.
-
Automatically updated: You do not discover new versions, the tuner
brings them to you; a channel can even be updated while it is running.
-
Updated incrementally: You download only the elements that have
changed and not the whole program again.
-
Bi-directional: Channels can return user-provided data to developers,
such as counts of feature usage and errors.
-
Customizable: developer software called transmitter plug-ins can
modify channels as they are transmitted to users.
Because channels can be updated automatically, thanks to the push technology,
and efficiently, thanks to the incremental update, they can be much more
dynamic than traditional applications, which are updated once a year or
so. Channels are an excellent vehicle for distributing data and code that
change weekly, daily, hourly, or even more often.
What's more, Marimba extends the JRE by giving
access to CDROMs, modems and the registry of the OS (Note: This
access is only enabled when the channel type is Application, and
by importing the Marimba proprietary extension to the JRE).
Example :
A vendor goes to customers to sell selected products of his company.
A channel containing only these products enables him to take orders without
being connected to the central database. Once the order taking is done,
the vendor can synchronize easily the central database with his own data
thanks to the automatic and incremental update of channels.
For further information, read the introduction
to Castanet. You can see also the data
sheet about Castanet.
Moreover, Marimba provides a documentation
in which you can find an explanation of each product and an overview
of the Tuner
and the Transmitter.
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Publishing the Java Infotorg application as
a Castanet channel
Publishing the channel, step by step
This part is based on From
Applet to Channel, Step by Step from Marimba. It describes how
to use the Publisher to make your applet available, through the
Java Infotorg application example.
You can also have a look at the pages dealing with how
to use quickly the Publisher and how
to transform an Applet into a Channel. These pages are provided by
the Castanet User Docs channel from the trans.marmba.com
transmitter on the port 80.
Publishing, through an example
Step 0. If you use the Transmitter on your computer, make
sure it is running.
To run the Transmitter, follow the instructions
given in each window of the transmitter.
Step 1. Put code and data files under a single directory
(called here the root directory).
The following picture shows the root directory Java Infotorg,
containing the whole Java Infotorg project.
Step 2. Launch the Publisher (you find it in the Transmitter
release).
Press the Channel button. You then see the channels under
Development.
Click on Add and enter the root directory of your channel.
Click on Add when that is OK.
Step 3. Fill in the the information required for publishing
the channel.
In the Transmitter tab, give all the information about the transmitter.
Example: Host = java.sema.fr
and port = 91.
In the General tab, write the name of your channel. It corresponds
to the name that will be seen in the Tuner.
Choose the type of your channel in the list (Applet, Application,
...).
Enter the name of the main class in the Code field.
Step 4. Convert the parameters of the applet.
Take the parameters from the original <applet>
and copy them in the parameter section, as key=value pairs,
one on each line.
The parameters of an original applet tag:
<PARAM NAME=mode VALUE="graphical">
is converted in:
mode=graphical
Step 5. Publish the channel by clicking
on the Publish button.
The Publisher contacts the Transmitter and creates/updates the
channel.
To update a channel with new code or data, you publish it again.
Only the altered files are copied to the transmitter.
Publishing channels having jar files
You can create a channel using jar files. The process is the same
as before. Only the steps that change are given here :
Step 1: Create a jar file from the project. Put
it under a single directory with other code and data files.
Important: extra folder information of the classes
must be written in the jar file to keep the packages structure.
Example: the
following picture shows the content of the jar file JavaInfotorg.jar.
You can see the packages structure in the Path section in WinZip (see the
red box).
Step 3.: Provide the names of the Zip and Jar files
used by your channel in the Classpath from the General tab.
Step 5. Publish the channel
Note about the parameters of an applet
or application:
You can convert the parameters without
using the graphical interface.
You must then create a separate file named
parameters.txt in the root directory in which you specify the parameters
of the applet.
Here is the content of the file in the
case seen in the step 4 :
# Parameters for the GraphLayout channel
mode=graphical
Summary
Step 0. If you use the Transmitter on your computer,
make sure it is running.
Step 1. Put code and data files under a single
directory.
Step 2. Launch the Publisher.
Step 3. Set the properties of the channel
and the information on the Transmitter.
Step 4. Convert the parameters of the applet.
Step 5. Publish the Channel.
Automating the publishing of a channel
You can choose to launch a channel directly, that is, without passing through
the different stages of the tuner.
For that, you can create a batch file .
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Getting the Java Infotorg channel running
You can have a look at the Castanet
products page to know the hardware and system requirements for each
program. Basic information is given below.
Tuner ,
Transmitter 
and Publisher 
specifications
Pricing
Call Marimba Sales for information.
Hardware and system requirements
Castanet
Transmitter
Version 1.1 available on
Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, and Solaris 2.5.
Requires 16MB of memory
and a minimum of 10MB of hard disk space.
Castanet
Tuner
Version 1.1 available on
Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, Macintosh (PowerPC), and Solaris 2.5.
Requires 16MB of memory
and a minimum of 10MB of hard disk space.
You can download an evaluation
copy of the Tuner, Transmitter and Publisher from the Marimba web site.
Note that the Publisher is provided in the Transmitter package.
Downloading the Java Infotorg channel
The Java Infotorg application can run as a channel, a standalone Java application
or an applet. To run Java Infotorg as a applet, launch InfotorgApplet.html.
To run it as an application, run the class InfotorgApplication.
Click here to download the zip
file of the Java Infotorg channel.
Using the Java Infotorg channel
To use a channel, you must only subscribe to it.
You subscribe to channels with the Castanet Tuner. Subscribing downloads
the channel, installs it on your hard disk, and launches it.
Note : Subscribing also initiates the automatic update
schedule (hourly or weekly, for example) saved in the channel by its developer;
you can also direct the tuner to update a channel whenever you wish. You
can launch a subscribed channel from the tuner, from a Web Browser like
Netscape, or, from a platform-specific
launch facility such as a shortcut or alias.
Launch the Tuner.
Click on the Listing tab and enter the name of the transmitter
followed by the port number (TransmitterHostname:PortNumber)
in the list field.
Note that the transmitter must be running to enable you to
receive the list of the channels it transmits.
Double click on a channel to subscribe to it.
The tuner downloads the channel.
Once downloaded, the channel is launched by the Tuner :
Now the channel is installed, the next time you want to run it, you
can just double click on it or use the Start command of the Tuner
Channel menu.
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Distributing
as a self-installing Java application
Introduction
InstallShield has ported his
well known installation program to Java : InstallShield SetupCafé
enables software distribution to any platform supporting Java.
We will see in the first part how to create an installation file
with InstallShield SetupCafé. The second part will present how to
install and remove an application thanks to SetupCafé.
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Creating an installation
file
This section presents the developer side : how to create an installation
file with InstallShield SetupCafé.
Start
Press 
in the welcome frame, to go to the next frame.
In the Project Information frame, enter the company and project information.
Note that you will be able to go back to any following window to change
the information entered. For that, use the 
button.
Press .
Welcome Information
A welcome panel can be displayed to the user when the installation
program is launched. Check 
if you want this window to appear.
Press .
Readme
A window presenting a text file can be included. To include a readme
text file, select the checkbox and enter the name of the file.
Press .
License agreement
Select the checkbox if you want a license agreement to be displayed.
Provide the name of your text file in the License Agreement Text File
field.
Press .
Destination Location
Enter the directory in which the program will be installed by default.
The 
button permits to see the window as it will be displayed to the user.
Press .
Source Files Directory
Enter the directory in which project is. This directory must contain
all the files you want to be included in the installation file. To exclude
some files, specify their extension in the Exclude text field.
Press .
Launch Scripts
Specifying the information in the window Launch Scripts window to
make SetupCafé create scripts to launch your java applications for
you.
Once the information entered, press 
to add the script to the list.
Press .
Platform-Specific Options
SetupCafé is able to create shortcuts in Windows environments.
Check Include the capability to add Windows 95/NT 4.0 shortcuts,
to use this functionality.
Enter the name of the shortcut, its target and icon file.
Press
to add this shortcut to the list.
Press .
SetupCafé is also able to make changes to the Windows registry.
Check Include the capability to add Windows 95/NT 4.0 registry
entries. Press
to choose a registry file and to add it to the list.
Press .
If your project has self registering files, check Include
self-registration support, and select them in the Self-registering
File list.
Press .
Build
Here is the last step. Enter the name of the installation class file
that will be created.
Press  .
SetupCafé then create the class file at the location given
in the Build Location text field.
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Installing/Removing an application with SetupCafé
This section presents the user side : how to install and uninstall an application
packaged with SetupCafé.
Installing an application
Launching the installation
The installation file is a class file. Hence, to run it, you can
use the JDK (1.1) java runtime for instance.
The following batch file does it for you. You only have to change
the three first lines containing the java path.
set JAVAPATH=C:\java\jdk1.1.3
set INSTALLDIR=c:\JavaInstallDir
set INSTALLFILENAME=JavaInfotorgInstall
%JAVAPATH%\bin\java.exe -classpath "%JAVAPATH%\lib\classes.zip;%INSTALLDIR%"
%INSTALLFILENAME%
Where
JAVAPATH is the JDK path.
INSTALLDIR corresponds to the path of the
installation file you want to launch.
INSTALLFILENAME is the name of this file.
Installation steps
Press .
Enter the directory in which you want to install the application
(here, Java Infotorg).
Press  .
A shortcut is created in the Start Menu - Programs
:
Uninstallation
SetupCafé provides also an uninstall program to remove entirely
the application : it removes the files but also the shortcuts and the changes
to the registry. This program is a java class. Here is a batch file to
launch it :
set JAVAPATH=C:\java\jdk1.1.3
set INSTALLDIR=c:\JavaInfotorg
%JAVAPATH%\bin\java.exe -classpath "%JAVAPATH%\lib\classes.zip;%INSTALLDIR%"
uninstall
Where
JAVAPATH is the JDK path.
INSTALLDIR corresponds to the uninstall program path.
Distributing
as a trusted applet
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Author : f92-bro@nada.kth.se
Date : October 3, 1997 |
