Use Java library with Xcode, Objective C, and Cocoa

Question

I would like to use an open source library that's written in Java to create a Cocoa desktop application.

Ideally, I would use the Java library as the model, and write my own Objective C controller classes and Cocoa views. Is this possible in Xcode? What options do I have (if any)?

Or, would you recommend rewriting the parts of the Java library I need into Objective C (or C)?

Fyi, I have zero Java experience and I'm fairly new to programming (under 2 years experience). The languages I currently study and use are Ruby and Objective C (and the Cocoa framework).

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Answer 1

I recently joined the Cocoa developers mailing list. Someone basically asked this exact question and the consensus was to use JNI. However, MacRuby and JRuby is an interesting thought. Therefore, I suppose the real answer is it's possible but not easy.