Error invoking method. and Failed to launch JVM – Native Package will build but not launch

antdeploymentjavafxjvmpackage

Can anyone shed any light more specifically on where my problem resides, and how to fix it?

I'm running:

Windows 7
Eclipse Mars.2 Release (4.5.2)

I've followed the instructions closely and repeatedly for Marco's Tutorial on code.makery.ch (code.makery.ch/library/javafx-8-tutorial/part7/)

I've deployed an earlier native package of this program before, with some trouble, but eventually successfully after adding

-vm
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_91\bin\javaw.exe

to eclipse.ini

After finally getting the ant build to run successfully,

do-deploy:
        [copy] Copying 2 files to C:\Users\administrator.SUNDANCE\IdeaProjects\POA 1.1 Build Master\POA 1.1 - Try 1\build\dist\libs
       [mkdir] Created dir: C:\Users\administrator.SUNDANCE\IdeaProjects\POA 1.1 Build Master\POA 1.1 - Try 1\build\build\classes\META-INF
Using base JDK at: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_91\jre
Using base JDK at: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_91\jre
Installer (.exe) saved to: C:\Users\administrator.SUNDANCE\IdeaProjects\POA 1.1 Build Master\POA 1.1 - Try 1\build\deploy\bundles
BUILD SUCCESSFUL
Total time: 56 seconds

My main file looks like this:

 import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader;
import javafx.scene.Parent;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.image.Image;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

/**
 * Created by Brad on 5/20/2016.
 * Solely used to load the FXML and set the icons. Everything else is done in Controller.java
 */
public class Main extends Application {
    public static FXMLLoader loader;

    //Icon from https://icons8.com

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception{
        loader = new FXMLLoader();
        loader.setLocation(Main.class.getResource("view/Arrivals_Layout1.fxml"));
        Parent root = loader.load();
        primaryStage.getIcons().add(new Image(ClassLoader.getSystemResourceAsStream("resources/images/Pallet-96.png")));
        primaryStage.getIcons().add(new Image(ClassLoader.getSystemResourceAsStream("resources/images/pallet_96_allsizes.ico")));



        primaryStage.setTitle("Purchase Order Arrivals");
        primaryStage.setScene(new Scene(root));
        primaryStage.setMinWidth(820);
        primaryStage.setMinHeight(375);
        primaryStage.show();
    }


    public static void main(String[] args) {
        launch(args);
    }
}

My Package Explorer looks something like this, if it helps
My PATH: C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath;%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\;C:\Program Files (x86)\IBM\Client Access\Emulator;C:\Program Files (x86)\IBM\Client Access\Shared;C:\Program Files (x86)\IBM\Client Access\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\DTS\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Tools\Binn\ManagementStudio\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Tools\Binn\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\PrivateAssemblies\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\DTS\Binn\;C:\Program Files\TortoiseHg\;C:\Program Files (x86)\Inno Setup 5

The build.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <project name="POA 1.1 - Try 1" default="do-deploy" basedir="."  xmlns:fx="javafx:com.sun.javafx.tools.ant">
    <target name="init-fx-tasks">
        <path id="fxant">
            <filelist>
                <file name="${java.home}\..\lib\ant-javafx.jar"/>
                <file name="${java.home}\lib\jfxrt.jar"/>
                <file name="${basedir}"/>
            </filelist>
        </path>

        <taskdef resource="com/sun/javafx/tools/ant/antlib.xml"
            uri="javafx:com.sun.javafx.tools.ant"
            classpathref="fxant"/>
    </target>
    <target name="setup-staging-area">
        <delete dir="externalLibs" />
        <delete dir="project" />
        <delete dir="projectRefs" />

        <mkdir dir="externalLibs" />

        <copy todir="externalLibs">
            <fileset dir="C:\Program Files\Java\sqljdbc_4.2\enu">
                <filename name="sqljdbc42.jar"/>
            </fileset>
        </copy>
        <copy todir="externalLibs">
            <fileset dir="C:\Users\administrator.SUNDANCE\IdeaProjects\POA 1.1 Build Master\POA 1.1 - Try 1\build\dist">
                <filename name="POA 1.1 - Try 1.jar"/>
            </fileset>
        </copy>

        <mkdir dir="project" />
        <copy todir="project">
            <fileset dir="C:\Users\administrator.SUNDANCE\IdeaProjects\POA 1.1 Build Master\POA 1.1 - Try 1">
                <include name="src/**" />
            </fileset>
        </copy>

        <mkdir dir="projectRefs" />
    </target>
    <target name='do-compile'>
        <delete dir="build" />
        <mkdir dir="build/src" />
        <mkdir dir="build/libs" />
        <mkdir dir="build/classes" />

        <!-- Copy project-libs references -->
        <copy todir="build/libs">
            <fileset dir="externalLibs">
                <include name="sqljdbc42.jar"/>
                <include name="POA 1.1 - Try 1.jar"/>
            </fileset>
        </copy>

        <!-- Copy project references -->

        <!-- Copy project sources itself -->
        <copy todir="build/src">
            <fileset dir="project/src">
                <include name="**/*"/>
            </fileset>
        </copy>

        <javac includeantruntime="false" source="1.8" target="1.8" srcdir="build/src" destdir="build/classes" encoding="Cp1252">
            <classpath>
                <fileset dir="build/libs">
                    <include name="*"/>
                </fileset>
            </classpath>
        </javac>

        <!-- Copy over none Java-Files -->
        <copy todir="build/classes">
        <fileset dir="project/src">
            <exclude name="**/*.java"/>
        </fileset>
        </copy>


    </target>
    <target name="do-deploy" depends="setup-staging-area, do-compile, init-fx-tasks">
        <delete file="dist"/>
        <delete file="deploy" />

        <mkdir dir="dist" />
        <mkdir dir="dist/libs" />

        <copy todir="dist/libs">
            <fileset dir="externalLibs">
                <include name="*" />
            </fileset>
        </copy>


        <fx:resources id="appRes">
            <fx:fileset dir="dist" includes="POA 1.1 - Try 1.jar"/>
            <fx:fileset dir="dist" includes="libs/*"/>
            <fx:fileset dir="dist" includes="resources/**"/>
        </fx:resources>

        <fx:application id="fxApplication"
            name="Purchase Order Arrivals"
            mainClass="Main"
            version="1.1"
        />

        <mkdir dir="build/classes/META-INF" />



        <fx:jar destfile="dist/POA 1.1 - Try 1.jar">
            <fx:application refid="fxApplication"/>
            <fileset dir="build/classes">
            </fileset>
            <fx:resources refid="appRes"/>

            <manifest>
                <attribute name="Implementation-Vendor" value="Ugma Development"/>
                <attribute name="Implementation-Title" value="Purchase Order Arrivals"/>
                <attribute name="Implementation-Version" value="1.1"/>
                <attribute name="JavaFX-Feature-Proxy" value="None"/>
            </manifest>
        </fx:jar>


        <mkdir dir="deploy" />
        <!-- Need to use ${basedir} because somehow the ant task is calculating the directory differently -->
        <fx:deploy
            embedJNLP="false"
            extension="false"
            includeDT="false"
            offlineAllowed="true"
            outdir="${basedir}/deploy"
            outfile="POA 1.1 - Try 1" nativeBundles="exe"
            updatemode="background" >

            <fx:platform basedir="${java.home}"/>
            <fx:info title="POA 1.1 - Try 1" vendor="Ugma Development"/>

            <fx:application refId="fxApplication"/>
            <fx:resources refid="appRes"/>
        </fx:deploy>


    </target>
</project>

The .exe is generated and installs the program in /AppData.

The program will compile and run fine in Eclipse, but when I run the installed version, I get:

Error invoking method.

first and then after clicking OK

Failed to launch JVM

I've tried seemingly everything:

I've read multiple similar questions, and have scoured the internet, but have yet to vault this problem. Examples of the many I've read with vague or no answers:

Because he is less masterful in deployment, Marco himself said to come ask the mighty world of Stack Exchange:
http://code.makery.ch/library/javafx-8-tutorial/part7/#comment-2233862311

Again, any specific light on where my problem resides, and how to fix it?

Best Answer

I figured it out!

The way I found the problem:

After double, triple checking the dependencies and seeing that it both compiled and then built fine, I suspected the jar file which is located at build/deploy/{yourProjectName}.jar

EDIT: If you're getting the errors only once it is installed, it makes sense to run the jar in the installation directory. ( AppData/Local/{ApplicationTitle}/app/{yourProjectName}.jar )

I ran it on the command line to see if it was throwing an exception:

To easily navigate to the directory I noted where I had saved my project in Explorer and then copied that to the command line.

Open command prompt

Win + r

cmd + Enter
Navigate to the directory

cd {ProjectPath}\build\deploy
Run the jar file

java -jar "{YourJar}.jar"

Because I executed the jar via the command prompt, java had somewhere to show me the exception!

C:\Users\administrator.SUNDANCE\IdeaProjects\PODTester_Layout8\build\deploy>java
 -jar "PODTester_Layout8.jar"
java.io.FileNotFoundException: src\resources\Carrier List.txt (The system cannot
 find the path specified)
        at java.io.FileInputStream.open0(Native Method)
        at java.io.FileInputStream.open(Unknown Source)
        at java.io.FileInputStream.<init>(Unknown Source)
        at java.io.FileInputStream.<init>(Unknown Source)
        at java.io.FileReader.<init>(Unknown Source)

Upon reviewing my code, I figured that it wasn't finding the file because of the explicit reference to src. I fixed that and lo and behold! Upon rebuilding, the installed application worked!

So in summary:

If your native package throws you a

Error invoking method.

and a

Failed to launch JVM

run your jar file via the command prompt to see if it throws exceptions.

Now if you want details about my specific problem and the process I went through to fix it, here you go:

The Problem:

I thought it might've been something to do with dependencies (especially with me including the sqljdbc driver), but it turns out it wasn't a dependency issue. The problem was that the .jar was throwing an exception only once installed. What made the error so hard to understand was the oh-so-generic "Could not invoke method." which gave me little new information.

To mitigate future similar problems I added a showExceptionDialog() method (inspired by Marco Jacob's work) :

/**
 * Shows a dialog box when an exception occurs instead of just doing nothing.
 *
 * Once installed this will help to diagnose problems instead of letting
 * them go unnoticed.
 *
 * @param e the exception to print; it's stacktrace will be shown as well
 */
public static void showExceptionDialog(Exception e) {
    Alert alert = new Alert(Alert.AlertType.ERROR);

    alert.setTitle("Exception Dialog");
    alert.setHeaderText("An error occurred:");

    String content = "Error: ";
    if (null != e) {
        content += e.toString() + "\n\n";
    }

    alert.setContentText(content);

    Exception ex = new Exception(e);

    //Create expandable Exception.
    StringWriter sw = new StringWriter();
    PrintWriter pw = new PrintWriter(sw);
    ex.printStackTrace(pw);

    String exceptionText = sw.toString();

    //Set up TextArea
    TextArea textArea = new TextArea(exceptionText);
    textArea.setEditable(false);
    textArea.setWrapText(true);


    textArea.setPrefHeight(600);
    textArea.setPrefWidth(800);


    //Set expandable Exception into the dialog pane.
    alert.getDialogPane().setExpandableContent(textArea);


    alert.showAndWait();
}

Specific details about my problem:

In my program I had a file called Carrier List.txt being read and written to, and it was stored in the resources folder.

In IntelliJ and Eclipse it compiled just fine because it could find src/resources/Carrier List.txt just fine. Things would have been just fine when I manually copied the resources folder as per Marco Jacob's Deployment Tutorial, but I explicitly referenced

src/resources/Carrier List.txt

in my code instead of just

resources/Carrier List.txt

Best Answer

The way I found the problem:

So in summary:

The Problem:

Specific details about my problem:

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