Launching Wonderland Clients using Java Web Start

Introduction

Support for Java Web Start is built into Wonderland v0.5. The Wonderland server automatically supports launching clients from Java Web Start when you compile Wonderland from the source code (or from binary releases in the future). With Java Web Start, clients only need to open a URL in a web browser, and as long as Java SE 5 or SE 6 is installed on their system, the Wonderland client will be automatically downloaded and launched.

The Wonderland Server URL

When you start the Wonderland server, a web server is started which enables users to launch the Wonderland client. This web page defaults to port 8080. For example, if the host name of your server is www.company.com, then the URL of the Wonderland client page will be http://www.company.com:8080. If you are unsure what the host name of your machine is, you can use the IP address of your server instead.

When you start the Wonderland server, it displays a message with the URL of the web server. For example:

     [java] -----------------------------------------------------------
     [java] Wonderland web server started successfully.
     [java] Log files are in /Users/me/.wonderland-server/0.5-dev/log
     [java] Web server running on http://129.148.173.164:8080/
     [java] -----------------------------------------------------------

Displaying the Java Console

Before launching the Wonderland client via Java Web Start, it is recommended that you turn on the Java console, which displays log messages for the client. If you run into an issue, this log will help determine the cause of the problem. To turn on the Java console:

Showing the Java Console on Windows

1. Make sure Wonderland is not running
2. From the Start menu, select Control Panel.
3. In the Control Panel, click on Java.
4. In the Java Control Panel, click on the Advanced tab.
5. Click on the + before Debugging and select Enable logging.
6. Click on the + before Java console and click on Show console.
7. Click OK

Showing the Java Console on Mac OS

1. Make sure Wonderland is not running
2. Navigate to Applications --> Utilities --> Java
3. Open Java Preferences
4. Click the Advanced tab
5. Under the Debugging heading, check Enable logging
6. Under the Java console heading, click Show console
7. Click Save and close the Java Preference dialog

Showing the Java Console on Linux/Solaris

1. Make sure Wonderland is not running
2. From a terminal, enter javaws -viewer. Two windows should appear, one titled "Java Control Panel" and another titled "Java Cache Viewer".
3. On the window titled "Java Cache Viewer", click the Close button.
4. In the Java Control Panel, click on the Advanced tab.
5. Click on the + before Debugging and select Enable logging.
6. Click on the + before Java console and click on Show console.
7. Click OK

Launching a Client

If you open the URL in a web browser, you should see the page below. Click the "Launch Wonderland 0.5" button to launch the Wonderland client. It only needs to download the client software once; future attempts will use a cached version of the software. (click the image for a full-sized version).