Draft JEP: Launch Single-File Source-Code Programs

[Jonathan Gibbons]

Jaikiran,

There is no need to use the shebang feature (meaning a line beginning 
#!) if you are a new user or if you are on a system that does not 
support its use. I regard the shebang feature as a feature for advanced 
users. If you recognize it, and know how to use it, you'll welcome it; 
if you don't recognize it, you don't have to learn to use it.  For many 
users, the ability to specify the source file for their program on the 
java command line will be good enough.

-- Jon

On 02/12/2018 08:19 PM, Jaikiran Pai wrote:
> Hi Jonathan,
>
> The motivation behind this feature, as noted in the motivation 
> section, IMO is good - to allow developers getting started with Java 
> to be able to try out small utility programs without having to go 
> through multiple different tools/commands.
>
> As such, the first part of the JEP which states that the java tool 
> would be enhanced to support this feature sounds reasonable. However, 
> the additional change/enhancement to support shebang files, IMO, just 
> adds more complexities to support, what I think, is a non-existent 
> requirement. Complexities/questions like:
>
> - Given that the feature is mostly targeted towards new users, what 
> purpose would a shebang serve for such users, if they are on a Windows 
> OS. Not starting a OS war, but it still is the most used OS for 
> development, which effectively would mean that not many will use this 
> shebang feature, IMO.
>
> - What happens when the user moves one step forward in learning Java 
> and now wants to use this existing class (which has a shebang) along 
> with some other newer class(es) and wants to compile and build the 
> application? How would other tools like (javac) react to it? Would 
> those tools too now understand the shebang mechanism?
>
> - I'm not an expert on compilers, but AFAIK, Eclipse IDE uses its own 
> compiler. Would that mean that these external compilers too will have 
> to now understand and support the shebang support?
>
> Personally, except for the proposal to support shebang, the JEP looks 
> good.
>
> -Jaikiran
>
> On 12/02/18 7:52 PM, Roger Riggs wrote:
>> Hi Jonathan,
>>
>> It would be  a great convenience to developers to NOT to have two 
>> types of java source files.
>> Those that can be run directly and those that cannot. According to 
>> the JLS, the former can not
>> be called java source files, they are something else.
>>
>> $.02, Roger
>>
>>
>>
>> On 2/10/2018 11:59 AM, Jonathan Gibbons wrote:
>>> Volker,
>>>
>>> I don't see a compelling need to change the JLS to accommodate 
>>> "shebang" files. Most Java source files don't need the `#!` line, 
>>> including any source file passed to an explicit invocation of the 
>>> Java launcher. The line is only needed when the file is set up to be 
>>> directly executed by the "shebang" mechanism, in which case the line 
>>> can be thought of as a "wrapper" supported by the host system to 
>>> enable such use. If the feature is sufficiently popular, it may even 
>>> be that editors will recognize and support the use of such lines, in 
>>> the same way that some editors recognize and support the 
>>> manipulation of javadoc comments, which are also not defined in the 
>>> JLS (beyond the basic definition of a comment in JLS 3.7).
>>>
>>> -- Jon
>>>
>>>
>>> On 2/9/18 2:51 AM, Volker Simonis wrote:
>>>> Hi Jonathan,
>>>>
>>>> that's an interesting proposal. It is just unfortunate that a Java
>>>> source file starting with "shebang" won't be a legal Java file
>>>> according to the Java Language Specification. Or do you plan to change
>>>> the JLS to allow (and ignore) "shebang" in the first line?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Volker
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Feb 9, 2018 at 12:18 AM, Jonathan Gibbons
>>>> <jonathan.gibbons at oracle.com> wrote:
>>>>> This draft JEP contains a proposal to enhance the java launcher to 
>>>>> support
>>>>> running a
>>>>> program supplied as a single file of Java source code. The program 
>>>>> will be
>>>>> compiled
>>>>> and run, without the need to explicit invoke javac, or to package 
>>>>> up a jar
>>>>> file.
>>>>>
>>>>> For more details, see:
>>>>>
>>>>> http://openjdk.java.net/jeps/8192920
>>>>>
>>>>> -- Jon
>>>
>>
>