Bridges > Java and COM - Connector Objects > IDL Command Line with Java Connector Object

# IDL Command Line with Java Connector Object

The following example creates a simple Java application that includes two text boxes. An IDL command typed in the top textbox is passed to the IDL process through the use of the executeString method. Command output and any error messages are printed in the bottom textbox.

Note: The file for this example, `JIDLCommandLine.java`, is located in the `examples/doc/bridges/java` subdirectory of the IDL distribution.

1. Open the file named `JIDLCommandLine.java` in the location referenced above:
2. Open the Windows Command window by selecting Start > Run and enter `cmd` in the textbox.
3. Use the cd command to change to the directory containing the `JIDLCommandLine.java` file.
   For a default Windows installation, the command would be:

cd IDL_DIR\examples\doc\bridges\java

where `IDL_DIR` is the directory where you have installed IDL.
4. Reference the classpath of `javaidlb.jar` in the compile statement. This automatically accesses the connector object, `java_IDL_connect`, which is contained within the file. Enter the following two commands (as single lines) to compile and execute the program, replacing IDL_DIR with the IDL installation directory:

javac -classpath ".;IDL_DIR\resource\bridges\export\java\javaidlb.jar" JIDLCommandLine.java
java -classpath ".;IDL_DIR\resource\bridges\export\java\javaidlb.jar" JIDLCommandLine

Note: See Note on Running the Java Examples for information on executing Java commands on a non-Windows platform.

After compiling and running the project, a simple command line interface appears as shown in the following figure.

Send commands to the IDL process by entering them in the top text box and pressing the Enter key. Any output or errors will appear in the lower text field.