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Packaging Programs in JAR Files
Modifying a Manifest File
You use the
m command-line option to add custom information to the manifest during creation of a JAR file. This section describes the
m option.
The Jar tool automatically puts a default manifest with the pathname
META-INF/MANIFEST.MF into any JAR file you create. You can
enable special JAR file functionality, such as
package sealing, by
modifying the default manifest.
Typically, modifying the default manifest involves adding special-purpose headers to the manifest that allow the JAR file to perform a particular desired function.
To modify the manifest, you must first prepare a text file containing the information you wish to add to the manifest. You then use the Jar tool's m option to add the information in your file to the manifest.
Warning:
The text file from which you are creating the manifest must end with a new line or carriage return.
The last line will not be parsed properly if it does not
end with a new line or carriage return.
The basic command has this format:
jar cfm jar-file manifest-addition input-file(s)
Let's look at the options and arguments used in this command:
- The c option indicates that you want to create
a JAR file.
- The m option indicates that you want to merge
information from an existing file into the manifest file of the JAR file you're creating.
- The f option indicates that you want the output to go to a file (the JAR file you're creating) rather than to standard output.
- manifest-addition is the name (or path and name) of the existing text file whose contents you want to add to the contents of JAR file's manifest.
- jar-file is the name that you want the resulting JAR file to have.
- The input-file(s) argument is a space-separated list of one or more files that you want to be placed in your JAR file.
The m and f options must be in the same order as the corresponding arguments.
Note: The contents of the manifest must be encoded in UTF8.
The remaining sections of this lesson demonstrate specific modifications you may want to make to the manifest file.
