GL4Java Installation Guide

  Downloads and Instructions for Windows Platforms

This article will help you get GL4Java installed on your Windows box. It includes links to the required files and the steps that you will need to take to get them installed. It requires some Windows skills/knowledge to complete but isn't terrible difficult.

For those using a Linux box, you can get your downloads here and your instructions here.

Download and install Sun's Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

Click the link labeled Java (JRE) in the right sidebar. It will take you to the Java website where the Java Runtime Environment can be downloaded. Follow the instructions in that website to get your JRE downloaded and installed.

Download and install the jar files.

There are four jar files (png.jar, gl4java.jar, gl4java-glutfonts.jar, and gl4java-glffonts.jar) associated with the GL4Java distribution. They are listed in the right sidebar under downloads. Download each of them to your computer by clicking on the associated link.

Install these four files by moving them to your JAVA_HOME\lib\ext directory. Your JAVA_HOME directory most likely will be C:\Program Files\Java\jre?.?.?_?? where ? is the version number of your JRE. So, if you downloaded version 1.5 of the JRE, you should move the four jar file to C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_03\lib\ext.

You may have more than one JRE, if your java folder contains more than one jre?.?.?_?? folder in it. In this case, it is a good idea to put the jar files in the ext folder of each JRE.

Download and install the dll files.

Get a copy of the dll files by clicking the WindowsDLL.zip link under Downloads in the right sidebar. The dll files are in a zip file. So, you will have to extract them before they can be moved to their properly installed location. It is assumed that you know how to do this.

Move the dll files to their properly installed folder. For older Windows operating systems (OS), this folder is C:\Windows\System. For newer Windows OS's, it is C:\Windows\System32.

If GL4Java still doesn't work, it might be a security issue. You can verify this by looking at your java.policy file with a text editor like notepad.

Your java.policy file is located at JAVA_HOME\lib\security\java.policy. it should contain the line:

grant codeBase "file:${java.home}/lib/ext/*" { permission java.security.AllPermission; }

The key things to look for here are grant, /lib/ext/* and .AllPermission. It is very likely that the text between the curly braces differs. If you do not find this line, add it.

If your still having problems, you should consult the original installation documentation. It is located here.