Problem running my class file

Question

i'm using os x and when i compile my HelloWorld.java i have no errors and it creates the HelloWorld.class file in the same directory. now if i try to run the program from the terminal by typing in
java HelloWorld it works file, but if i try to send the HelloWorld.class file to any other machine or even open it not using the terminal(finding the file and double clicking it) it won't run.
Any idea how to make this program stand alone like i would want??
Thanks

Answer 1

alright i'll look it up, the little i've done with
java on windows with textpad i thought i was creating
a .class that executed from the ms-dos window but
perhaps something else the compiler did behind the
scenes to make it executable?Nope.
java HelloWorldYou're running java.exe. It's taking HelloWorld as its argument, finding the class called HelloWorld.class, taking it as input, and executing its main method through the JVM.
It's exactly the same thing as if you type Notepad somefile.txt or javac SomeFile.javaThe first word is the .exe or .bat that's running, and the next word is an argument that the program interprets as a file to use as its input.