Accessing JAR resources

Question

I have a jar file with resources (mainly configuration for caches, logging, etc) that I want to distribute.

I\'m having a problem with the relative path

Answer 1

I usually store files and other resources and then retrieve them as URLs:

URL url = MyClass.class.getResource("/design/someResource.png");

Within a static context, or otherwise:

URL url = getClass().getResource("/design/someResource.png");

From an instance.

The above snippets assume that design is a top level folder within the jar. In general, if the path begins with a "/" it assumes an absolute path, otherwise it's relative from the class location.