IKVM.NET 7.2.4630.5

IKVM.NET is an effective for several distinct software development situations. Here is a sampling of some of the possibilities.

- Drop-in JVM
- Create.NET applications in Java
- Use Java libraries in your .NET applications

Drop-in JVM

The ikvm program included with the distribution is a .NET implementation of a Java Virtual Machine. In many situations, you can use it as a drop-in substitute for java. For example, instead of writing

java -jar myapp.jar

to start an application, you can write

ikvm -jar myapp.jar

Use Java libraries in your .NET programs

IKVM.NET contains ikvmc, a Java bytecode to .NET IL translator. If you have a Java library that you would like to use in a .NET program, run ikvmc -target:library mylib.jar to make mylib.dll.

For example, the Apache FOP is an open-source XSL FO processor developed in Java that is commonly used to create PDF files from XML source. With the technology offered by IKVM.NET , Apache FOP can be used with any .NET program you desire.

Create.NET software in Java

IKVM offers a way for you to create .NET programs in Java. Although IKVM.NET does not contains a Java compiler for .NET, you can use any Java compiler to compile Java source code to JVM bytecode, then use ikvmc -target:exe myapp.jar to produce a .NET executable. You can even use .NET API's in your Java code using the included ikvmstub application.