Gaia Main Database Dictionary Tool
Launch using Java Web Start (recommended)
Launch as Java Applet

To run this tool you need to have Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 installed on your computer. You can either install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or the Java Development Kit (JDK) which both can be download from the Java website. Both the JRE and the JDK contain Java Web Start and the Java plug-in needed to launch the application.

Launching the tool using Java Web Start allows you to run the tool without a web browser.
If you launch the tool using Java Web Start and you have Java installed, but your browser doesn't know how the open the mdbdict.jnlp file, you have to select the Open with option and then locate the javaws executable which will usually found in tour JDK/JRE bin directory (i.e. /usr/local/java/bin/ ).
When launching the tool for the first time, it will be installed on your local drive. It also checks if you have the correct version of Java installed, and if not, it will install it for you. Furthermore, Web Start offers the possibility to create shortcuts to launch the tool later.
When the tool is launched later, a check is done to see if a new version is available. If so, this newer version will be downloaded first. More on Java Web Start can be found here.

Launching the tool as Java Applet requires a web browser with a Java plug-in installed. This method of launching can be convenient when Java Web Start is not available on your machine. Note that the tool and all its required libraries must be downloaded every time when you launch the tool. If you are connected to a slow network, this can take some time. More on Java plug-ins can be found here.