Introduction

The Java Virtual Machine is a great environment to run applications in, but the distribution of the applications in JAR files which need to be coupled together is a nightmare. This nightmare got the name JAR Hell. Every application to be started consisting of more than one JAR file is difficult to distribute, because the JAR files need to be opened and altered to get the MANIFEST.MF files' CLASSPATH entry right.

Some technologies were developed due to the JAR hell like Java EE containers, OSGi and so forth which tackle the issue on different levels in different complexities. But, for a simple Java command line tool or a small Swing application it is still to complex.

In this niche KickStart provides the functionality needed to start Java applications without the need to package all JARs into a large, fat JAR and without ana additional heavy-weight container. Kickstart's executable JAR is used and a properties files containing some information and that's it. A simple, light-weight Java application can be deployed in a cross-platform manner.