Create a File Type Association
Double clicking a .doc file will usually start Microsoft Office. Double clicking a .pdf file will usually start Adobe Acrobat Reader. By assigning a default program to a file extension you create a file type association. Any program, even programs you wrote, can be assigned as the default program for any file extension. Creating a …
Protect Your Program Code – Obfuscate It
It’s depressing to read online just how easy it is for someone to decompile Java class file byte code, to turn it back into the original Java source code. You can’t prevent someone from decompiling your code, but you can make the decompiled code more difficult to understand. You can rename objects, variables, and method …
Create a Software License Agreement
You’ve seen all sorts of license agreements. They appear when you install other people’s software. You may have hated them. You may not have bothered to read them. But now that you are selling your own software, it is time to realize that the license agreement is very important, and that you need one too. …
Should You Create a Windows .EXE Wrapper for Java Programs?
To make your program market ready, users should be able to start your program by double clicking a file. Support for this is not automatically provided for Java programs. Even double clicking an executable jar file will not start your program if the user’s computer isn’t set up correctly, Why Not Just Use an Executable …
Integrated Help and a User’s Guide for Your Programs
One of the most important areas of consideration for making a program more marketable is to make it more usable. A key aspect of making a program more usable is the inclusion of online help and a user’s guide. The JavaHelp System may be used to create a very good, easy to use, user’s guide …
What’s The Easiest Way to Quickly Resize Photos?
This week I got many photos ready for a web page photo album. I needed every photo scaled to the width of the web page, and scaled again, very small, to be used as a thumbnail. This could have taken hours using a photo editor. Instead, it took minutes using one of my favorite free …
Create Your Own Icons
Would you like to replace that default desktop icon that is used for your program? Do you need special icons in your program? Many existing icons are copyrighted and you may not use them for your own purposes. Now you can create your own icons! I am working on my next program which needs some …
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Many of the tips, techniques, and tools discussed in this blog are demonstrated in a detailed step-by-step tutorial in the book, This Little Program Went to Market, by Annette Godtland.
The book takes a computer program through the entire process of creating, deploying and distributing a program, then selling and marketing it (or any other product) on the Internet. Read more.
Programs at Market
Take a look at some of the programs I've created at Godtland Software Corporation. I created, deployed, distributed, sold, and marketed these programs using the techniques mentioned in this blog and detailed in the book. Read more.