From 85c578f86197460195da0730c5b887724ebfad11 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Michael Bayne Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2018 14:14:20 -0800 Subject: [PATCH] Removed bits about non-Java apps; added JWS caveat. Closes #157 --- README.md | 17 ++++++++++------- 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 8caf7c1..69efbda 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -9,6 +9,12 @@ It was designed as a replacement for [Java Web Start](http://java.sun.com/produc due to limitations in Java Web Start's architecture which are outlined in the [rationale](https://github.com/threerings/getdown/wiki/Rationale) section. +Note: Getdown was designed *in 2004* as an alternative to Java Web Start, because of design choices +made by JWS that were problematic to the use cases its authors had. It is _not_ a drop-in +replacement for JWS, aimed to help the developers left in the lurch by the deprecation of JWS in +Java 9. It may still be a viable alternative for developers looking to replace JWS, but don't +expect to find feature parity with JWS. + ## How do I use it? A tutorial and more detailed specification are available from the [Documentation] page. Questions @@ -28,13 +34,10 @@ massively multiplayer games. Try out any of the following games to see it in act * [Puzzle Pirates](https://www.puzzlepirates.com/) - OOO * [Spiral Knights](https://www.spiralknights.com/) - OOO -Getdown is implemented in Java, but certainly can be used to deploy non-Java-based applications. -Doing so would be a little crazy since you may have to install a JVM on the user's machine (if they -don't already have one installed), which is a ~7MB download. This isn't so bad if you're already -installing a Java application and must have a JVM, but it's a little crazy if the JVM is only used -for your installer. It is probably possible to compile Getdown with -[GCJ](http://gcc.gnu.org/java/), which would make Getdown a viable choice for non-Java -applications. +Getdown is implemented in Java, and is designed to deploy and update JVM-based applications. While +it would be technically feasible to use Getdown to deploy non-JVM-based applications, it is not +currently supported and it is unlikely that the overhead of bundling a JVM just to run Getdown +would be worth it if the JVM were not also being used to run the target application. ## Release notes