I am running a Java application from the command line. Can I specify a command line argument to set the current running directory to something other than where the application is actually going to run?
- Not sure that this is a duplicate, but can be helpful stackoverflow.com/questions/840190/…khachik– khachik2010-12-14 18:30:36 +00:00Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 18:30
- Yes, that may be helpful. new File(parent, path) might work. I will have to try it. Reason why I posted this question is I am trying to use a profiler on a dll that my application loads. Since I have to essentially profile java.exe, the current working directory gets set to my jdk folder and throws off my relative paths in my application.user538442– user5384422010-12-14 18:33:10 +00:00Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 18:33
- Your profiler should have an option to set starting directory. Or maybe it is possible to write a BAT file and tell profiler to run it?Sergei Tachenov– Sergei Tachenov2010-12-14 18:54:00 +00:00Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 18:54
- It does, but the application will not run when I set that for whatever reasonuser538442– user5384422010-12-14 19:20:59 +00:00Commented Dec 14, 2010 at 19:20
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4 Answers
There is a JVM argument -Duser.dir which can be used to set working directory for JVM.
1 Comment
reddot
Don't do this unless you want some inconsistent behavior in your program. I.e.
new File("file.txt").getAbsolutePath() and new File("file.txt").getCanonicalPath() respect the value of the property. But most of other methods of the File do not.If it all possible I would rather use a script to run the java application and set the directory in the script:
#!/bin/sh cd <your dir> java <some arguments> The JNI-solution may affect all kinds of relative paths in your application; for examples the classpath you put in.
Comments
If you want to change the current directory, you'll have to use JNI and invoke a native API from your Java code. For example, for Windows you would use SetCurrentDirectory
2 Comments
user538442
I am using JNI so this might be a possible solution.
Jim Garrison
This would make your code completely non-portable, of course.
I found this SO post and it helped me solve my problem. Though I wanted to share something specific about IntelliJ that might trip somebody else up.
I have posted a picture below where the -Duser.dir flag is used and also the Working Directory text field is filled in.
In this situation, the Working Directory will be set to "JarLearning" rather than "2ndTry".
