Determining default application by extension

Hello everyone,
Desktop class is a beautiful step forward in Java. It can launch applications in various modes, depending on the document file type, so that:
Desktop.getDesktop().open(new File("test.odt"));will open the test.odt document in an OpenOffice instance.
But what if I just want to know what program is associated to the "odt" extension?
Here's my real problem:
I might need to open files with unusual extensions using usual programs, without the chance to edit application/extension association. So I'd like to be able to ask Java "What's the default word processor?", that in other words is "with what program would you open the .doc extension?"
Do you have any idea on how to do that (assuming it's possible).
Thanks a lot in advance
Edited by: Simone.Pezzano on Oct 14, 2009 1:04 AM

JoachimSauer wrote:
DarrylBurke wrote:
If a program generates a .gtf file (an extension the OS does not know) and I know I want it open with the default word processor (the one that opens the .doc files)
I must ask the OS what program it has configured to open the .doc files1. If the file is in Word Document format, WIndows / MS Office is smart enough to open it in Word, regardless of the extension.Really? I was under the impression that Windows doesn't look at the content, unlike modern Linux desktops (which even complain sometimes when the extension doesn't match the content!).Windows might not, but Word does. Navigating to something with the "wrong" extension (I believe the dialog gives a 'show all' option) it'll just give it a whirl. Seriously, what else is it going to do? What else is anything going to do? Think of any software you ever wrote that read a file of a specific format. The only foolproof way to know if the file format is right, is to try and load it in.
File extensions really only have any meaning to the OS, even then not much. Unixes themselves don't have such a concept at all, although some window managers do.

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