Desktop : Java Glossary

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Desktop
The word desktop refers to the main screen display with icons littered over it, and sometimes to whatever you have currently visible. Oddly, Desktop also refers to a class, introduced in JDK 1.6, that lets you launch generic applications. Surprisingly, Desktop is part of the venerable java.awt package. This was a stupid place to put it. Launching apps has nothing to do with GUIs. I think Sun should have given it a more descriptive name like Launch. I can’t see the Desktop class having the remotest connection with the desktop.

With either a File or URI, it lets you launch a viewer to display the file, e.g. a browser, email client, The Desktop class allows a Java application to launch associated applications registered on the native desktop to handle a URI or a file. or a the associated open, edit or print application.

Unlike exec, you can use these features without knowing the name of the local command processor, browser, mail program etc.

Learning More

Sun’s Javadoc on java.awt.Desktop class : available:
exec
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