Question

I am making windows 8 , c#/xaml app. Is it possible to compile and run a java console program like ” hello world”?
Since winRt apps cannot use System.Diagnostics.Process then it cannot figure how to compile and run it. Or if compile is not possible, just being able to run a .class file is fine.

I have tried useing System.Diagnostics.Process to open cmd to compile but that class isn’t supported.
Thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

There’s certainly not an elegant or intended (& documented) way to launch a process like you describe from a Windows Store application (it’s intentionally locked down and there is no “command prompt for the new Windows store UI apps). There are some that suggest that there may be a way via CoCreateInstanceFromApp, but the documentation now reads as if that API only works for a limited number of Microsoft built COM objects.

While you can launch other installed Windows Store applications, the Java compiler will definitely not be one of those without a significant and unusual repackaging by Oracle (or some third party). While it’s possible that someone is working on that, it would seem unlikely (given the limited need for such functionality).

Depending on the nature of the Java code, you may want to look for a Java interpreters that could be embedded within your application, and call it directly, especially if the Java code is trivial.

Your application requirements would suggest that a traditional Windows desktop application would be a better fit.