WebStart provides a very neat and simple to use interface for launching programmes. It provides built in version control and the user can launch the application from their own desktop without the use of a browser. Java WebStart will run on any machine with Java 1.3 which includes most Unix, Windows and Mac OSX. It provides web-browser independence, faster start up and is more secure. WebStart allows you to change the browser page and continue to use the applet.

JavaWebStart can be installed from http://java.sun.com/products/javawebstart/

Windows Users:
JavaWebStart places an icon on your desktop, when you initially download an application you will be asked if you wish that applications icon to be placed on your desktop, thereby enabling you to run the application directly without first launching JavaWebStart.

Unix Users:
After downloading JavaWebStart, run 'install.sh' in the download directory. You will be asked for the home directory of Java SDK.
JavaWebStart can be launched from InstallationDirectory/javaws/javaws*

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You will need to be running JavaSDK 1.3+. Windows users have the option at the download site to bundle the JavaSDK 1.3 runtime with JavaWebStart. Do this only if you are NOT running JavaSDK 1.3+ on your system.

By launching JavaWebStart on your system, you will see a list of applications in cache. You can select and run them directly from here.

NOTE: The first time you download an application you will get a message detailing who the application was signed by and if you wish to trust it. If you choose to trust it, the download will commence and you will not be shown this message on future occassions.