Kickstart
Kickstart is a maker of Windows starters for Java applications. It generates EXE files from runnable Java archives (JAR).
Kickstart is not a Java native code compiler: it's just a wrapper generator. With Kickstart you can "hide" your runnable JARs into friendly EXE files. You can customise the generated EXE selecting a Windows icon, the JVM options and the target of your application (GUI or console). The EXE files generated by Kickstart don't remove the need of a Java Virtual Machine on the target machine, but they fit better the needs and the habits of a common Windows user.
Kickstart distribution contains the software engine, a GUI for the visual generation of the wrappers, an Ant task to automate the wrapping process into a build procedure and all the documentation you need to make it works. Kickstart sources are also available for download.
Requirements
In order to run Kickstart you need a Windows operating system with an installed Java Runtime Environment (J2SE 1.4 or later).
License
Kickstart is Free Software and it is licensed under GPL (you will find a copy of the license bundled into the downloadable software distribution).
Feedback
You can send comments and requests to Carlo Pelliccia.
Make a donation
Kickstart is free, but if you find it usefull please make a donation via PayPal.