We are very pleased to announce that Gluon Substrate can now generate static executables for Windows, based on the latest Java and JavaFX code.
As we had announced earlier, Gluon Substrate enables conversion of Java and JavaFX applications into applications that are native to the target operating system, and thus don’t require a Java VM to be installed on the target system. Everything required by the application, is contained in the static image. Gluon Substrate uses GraalVM native-image to compile Java bytecode into native code, and it bundles the application with the required resources and the static JavaFX libraries.
Gluon Substrate already enabled the creation of static applications for Linux, MacOS, Android and iOS, and today we are adding the Windows platform to this list.
The idea of static compilation is getting more and more attention. GraalVM native-image is a tool in the GraalVM suite that allows to create native code, based on Java bytecode, during compilation. Recently, Project Leyden was announced, which goal is to add the concept of static applications to the JDK.
At Gluon, we are very familiar with static compilation. Because of restrictions imposed by Apple, it is not allowed to execute dynamically compiled code on iOS devices — which is something hotspot and traditional Java VM’s are doing. In order to overcome this limitation, all bytecode needs to be compiled into native code ahead of time. This challenge also creates a big opportunity: code that is compiled before it enters the target device, does not need to be compiled on the device anymore. This typically leads to faster startup and less memory requirements.
Those advantages make sense on mobile devices, but also on other systems. Both server as well as client applications can benefit from static compilation.
The approach we take with Gluon Substrate brings the concept of static compilation to all client platforms: embedded, mobile and desktop. With the recent addition of the Windows platform, the target area has become much larger.
To get started with Gluon Substrate, we recommend the samples at https://github.com/gluonhq/client-samples.