Default Java properties

Question

Does anyone know how to set a default property, without specifying it on the command line. ie if you use the command line the command is:
java -Dthis.property=somevalue MyProg.class
I want to be able to do that without specifying it on the command line. ie this command:
java MyProg.class
automatically picks up some default properties.
I know you can do this with swing properties by defining a file called swing.properties in the lib directory of the jre. Can this be done with normal system properties?

Answer 1

Thanks for your reply.
I am looking for a more general purpose use. As in I
am using a program that I did not write. In Windows
NT I can choose to set up a service to start this app
or use a script file that includes a call to "java
.... file.class" to start the application. In the
command script I have it set up to set a certain
property that the application needs. In order to run
this script, someone has to log on and run it manually
or have it in their start up folder. If I allow the
app to start up as a service, no one has to log on,
the machine just needs to be powered up for the app to
run. The problem is, the property I need set is not
there.
So to sum it up ALL of the following are true.
1. You need a command line property.
2. You are using a script to run the jvm (and java application.)
3. That script is set up to run as a service.
4. Lastly it "just doesn't work."
Given the above it means that this has nothing to do with java.
You are probably running the service with the 'default' user. That generally isn't a good idea, mainly because it is rather hard to tell exactly what that user can access, and in particular because it means things that normally are set up are not set up.
So the first step is to set up a user to run that service. Then change the service so it starts up with that user.
The second step is to log on as that user (the user should not be a normal user.) And then run the application using the script. Modify the environment and the script until the application works as you want.
Finally, log off, restart the box and see if the service starts. If it doesn't then the most likely reason is because you made an assumption about the environment of the user that just wasn't true. The most common problem is where the service starts up (the 'current working directory'.) That can be most easily fixed by hard coding all paths or determining where the real current working directory is for that service (probably 'windows/system') and modifying the environment again so it works there.