The improved Java packager would include features to align with a modular Java platform
Java modules, in the works for years and now set to debut in 2016, will involve improvements to the Java Packager, to reduce the size of the Java Runtime Environment. In a JDK Enhancement Proposal (JEP) floated this week on an Internet bulletin board, the Java Packager tool could be integrated with features from the Project Jigsaw modularization plan. Java Packager is used to compile, package, and deploy Java applications from the command line. “The Java Packager has always generated huge binaries when it is asked to bundle a runtime as part of its packaging due to the size of the JRE, which for some distributions is on the order of 100MB,” the proposal states. “Jigsaw will expose tools and techniques that can reduce the size of the JRE we need to package.” The proposal stipulates that, for the most part, packager workflow will remain as is. But tools from Jigsaw will be added and replace some steps. The packager will only create applications using the JDK 9 runtime,