Verify System Requirements using Java

Question

I'm new to Java and have been asked to create an applet/servlet (not sure which I should use to be honest, pretty sure applet) that will make sure that the user's machine meets the system requirements we have set. These requirements include processor speed, amount of memory, screen resolution, download/upload bandwidth, and possibly a couple other criteria.

I'd be extremely grateful for a point in the right direction. I've got a small script for the screen res already and I've been looking into Hyperic SIGAR for much of the rest (except the bandwidth stuff).

Questions: Is an applet the right direction? Is Java the right/best language? (this will be all done through a web page)

Any direction is greatly appreciated...

Answer 1

Is an applet the right direction?

Possibly yes, the only other alternative in Java, to run Java classes on a client machine, from a web site is to use Java Web Start (JWS). You can investigate both, and decide on one. I would recommend looking at JWS primarily because

• The SIGAR DLLs (or any other native libraries) would have to be present in the "java.library.path" location of the client machine. If your native libraries are contained within applets, then you'll need to write these to disk first, before loading them.
• JWS allows you to embed native libraries in a JAR. The nativelib element of the JNLP file, can be used to specify the JAR that contains the SIGAR libraries.

As noted in the comment, you will need to sign your code. See this related question on StackOverflow as well.

Is Java the right/best language? (this will be all done through a web page)

That depends on how much information you need from the client machines, and how diverse they are; if they are all running Windows, see the footnote. Flash supports checking system capabilities, but to a limited extent: Processor speed and Available memory detection might not be possible in Flash.

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I'm not aware of the equivalent system capability detection features in .Net (and/or ActiveX), although you could be fairly certain that they would exist. You might want to ask another question, to discover whether this is possible and how feasible it would be.

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