Program deployment

Question

I have an idea for a program that I would like to sell commercially one day (when my programming skills are better and I can fully implement my ideas). It seems to me that a standalone commercial-quality program should have certian features, such as a dedicated installation program that copies all the files and makes any needed Windows registry entries. My questions relating to my soon-to-exist program are listed below. Please note the Duke dollars available! :)
1. Is Java a good choice for a client-side standalone program, or should I consider using C++ and the Win32 API to write a native program? I mean, the cross platform aspect of Java is great, but program performance and ease of installation for the end user are more important.
2. If I develop in Java and then use the features of my IDE to compile into a native executable for deployment, isn't that defeating the purpose of working in Java to begin with?
3. I worry that Microsoft's appeal over the recent court order to carry Java will be succesful, and hence my potential end users will have to download the JVM to use my program (thus making the installation more difficult for the end user). Is this a legitimate concern, or not worth worrying about?
thanks.

Answer 1

I have an idea for a program that I would like to
sell commercially one day (when my programming skills
are better and I can fully implement my ideas). It
seems to me that a standalone commercial-quality
program should have certian features, such as a
dedicated installation program that copies all the
files and makes any needed Windows registry entries.
My questions relating to my soon-to-exist program are
listed below. Please note the Duke dollars available!
1. Is Java a good choice for a client-side standalone
program, or should I consider using C++ and the Win32
API to write a native program? I mean, the cross
platform aspect of Java is great, but program
performance and ease of installation for the end user
are more important.If you are writing your program to run exclusively on Windows then Java is not a good choice. A major advantage of Java, running on many platforms, won't do you any good. But you still pay for this advantage in performance and not being able to exploit Windows features directly.
2. If I develop in Java and then use the features of
my IDE to compile into a native executable for
deployment, isn't that defeating the purpose of
working in Java to begin with?True, but as the previous person responding pointed out there is a major advantage in getting your prototype running in the language you are familiar with and Java development is "rapid" compared to C++.
3. I worry that Microsoft's appeal over the recent
court order to carry Java will be succesful, and hence
my potential end users will have to download the JVM
to use my program (thus making the installation more
difficult for the end user). Is this a legitimate
concern, or not worth worrying about?What is your traget market? If your target is corporate then you can assume high speed networks, support staff that can deal with installing the JVM and the probability that JVM is there already. If your target is hom users you can't assume high speed / broadband -- that makes download the JVM a bummer. Ditto for the other points.
Good luck with your project.