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The Java™ Tutorials
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Packaging Programs in JAR Files
Trail: Deployment

Lesson: Packaging Programs in JAR Files

The Java™ Archive (JAR) file format enables you to bundle multiple files into a single archive file. Typically a JAR file contains the class files and auxiliary resources associated with applets and applications.

The JAR file format provides many benefits:

This lesson has four sections:

Using JAR Files: The Basics

This section shows you how to perform basic JAR-file operations, and how to run software that is bundled in JAR files.

Working with Manifest Files: The Basics

This section explains manifest files and how to customize them so you can do such things as seal packages and set an application's entry point.

Signing and Verifying JAR Files

This section shows you how to digitally sign JAR files and verify the signatures of signed JAR files.

Using JAR-related APIs

This section introduces you to some of the JAR-handling features of the Java platform. The JAR file format is an important part of the Java platform's extension mechanism. You can learn more about that aspect of JAR files in the The Extension Mechanism trail of this tutorial.

Questions and Exercises: JAR

Test what you've learned about JAR.

Additional References

The documentation for the Java Development Kit (JDK) includes information about the Jar tool:


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