Creating a CD (Compact Disk) or DVD (Digital Video Disk) by writing to
a one-time recordable disc, or an erasable re-writeable disc. To do this from Java, you need software that makes
the CD
look like a hard disk, e.g. Roxio DirectCD. However, this creates CDs
that can only be read with Roxio software. Alternatively you can exec some utility
to do the work. The catch is most utilities are GUI (Graphic User Interface)s
that require human
interaction to make them work. There are a few however you can control from the command line, most notably
Cdrtools.
Compressing and Archiving
To pack the most files onto a DVD, and to burn as quickly as possible, you want to pre-compress the files (using BackUptoZip,
WinZip, or compression built-into the backup/burn utility).
BackupToZip is particularly efficient at this since it only compresses files that have recently changed. Further it clever enough to drop recently
deleted files from the compressed archives, something WinZip cannot do.
You also want to archive the files, so that large collections
of small files are combined into one big one. The same utilities that handle compression usually also handle archiving.
The disadvantage of compressing/archiving is you must unpack the files on the DVD before you can use them. That means anyone using the DVD
must have suitable unpacking software installed, e.g. WinZip or the corresponding restore utility to a backup.
Types of CD/DVD Filesystem Formats
You chose the file system for your burn based on the type of computer that will read the
CD/DVD.
| Types of CD/DVD File Systems |
|---|
| Type |
Max
Filename Length
In Bytes | Max
Directory
Nesting |
Filename Encoding |
mkisofs
option |
Notes |
|---|
| ISO-9660 |
180 |
8 |
upper case only |
-iso-level 4 |
The original Spartan format. Universally supported |
| Joliet |
64 |
no limit |
Unicode |
-J |
Microsoft’s extension to ISO-9660. Do not use in combination with -iso-level |
| RockRidge |
128 |
no limit |
Unicode |
-R |
Popular in Unix/Linux. Extension to ISO-9660. 255-bytes of UTF-8,
and Unix file meta information such as
permissions and extended timestamps. |
| HFS (Hierarchical File System) |
31 |
no limit |
Mac OS Roman |
-hfs |
Was popular on Apple. No longer supported. |
| HFS+ (Hierarchical File System Plus) |
255 |
no limit |
Unicode |
n/a |
Popular on Apple OS 8.1+, iPod. |
Free CD/DVD Burning Utilities
Ordered Alphabetically:
- AmoK
CD/DVD Burner: free, GUI only, W98/Me/NT/W2K/XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64 easy to figure out, easy to
select files and directories, lets you know what it is doing. About the only thing wrong with it is it is pure
GUI.
You cannot control it from the command line. It does not have a manual or help. The layout seems a bit wobbly.
The licence agreement is in German. You can see how it works with a FIFO-buffer it reads the files ahead,
prepares the files in DVD format and puts them into a drive buffer, from which the hardware writes the
bits to DVD/CD. You can see the two buffers filling and emptying as AmoK works to keep up. AmoK thus does not
need a big chunk of disk space to create the DVD/CD image. It supports only one DVD
writing format. It seems slower than other programs, though I did not benchmark.
- Cdrtools: free, command-line only, open source.
Vista/W7-32/W7-64/Linux
A complicated suite of command line C utilities ported to many platforms. They are essentially Unix utilities.
To use them under Windows, you must run them from a BASH (Bourne Again Shell) script run under Cygwin.
- Final Burner: free,
GUI only, W2K/XP, handles data, audio and video CDs
and DVDs. It has a feature to
create an autorun program with multiple buttons to launch various files on the DVD. It asks you to install some
codecs which have nothing at all to do with CD/DVD burning. It has an annoyance — you must add
directories one at a time. However, it has a fatal flaw. You can only add individual directories, not directory
trees. Further, you cannot control it from the command line. The pro version costs
. Oddly it has the same fatal flaws.
- Free ISO Burner: free, XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64,
GUI only.
- ImgBurn: free, GUI only, W95/W98/Me/NT/W2K/XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64
- InfraRecorder: free, GUI, open source, for
W98/Me/NT/W2K/XP/W2003/Vista, recommended by Ubuntu, can burn iso images. Be careful to download the correct
program, not one of those in the many ads.
- Alex Feinman’s ISO
Recorder, by donation. GUI only. XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64
Also his CreateCD, command line
backup a file set to CD/DVD for XP.
- Nero KwikMedia: free, GUI only, W2K/XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64. Aka Quick
Burn, BurnLite and Nero Lite. Nero keeps repacking its code in different bundles with different names and
prices. However, it always has a free GUI-based CD/DVD burner.
- NTFS Active ISO Burner: freeware, GUI and
command-line, W95/W98/Me/NT/W2K/XP/W2003/Vista
- Terabyte BurnCDCC:
free, command-line only, XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64. It does not create ISO (International Standards Organisation) images, just copy them
to CD/DVD. ISO CD/DVD burner. This is what I use. Just unzip
it to some directory on the PATH then invoke it from the command line or create a shortcut.
Commercial CD/DVD Burning Utilities
Select the currency you would like prices in:
Commercial utilities you might use to burn a CD or DVD include (ordered by increasing cost):
- D_back, GUI and command-line, XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64,
It uses whatever compressor software you have to create an archive then burns it to DVD. Its main claim to fame is it can be controlled completely with a XML (extensible Markup Language)
configuration file mentioned on the command line. It does no other CD/DVD burning duties.
- NCH Express Burn:
trialware, GUI or command line, XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64/OSX,
The Express Burn Plus Video for .
Also handles CDs/DVDs/Blu Ray/image files/video/audio/hard disk
files,. The Express Burn Plus Video Edition
well documented (asks you what you want
to accomplish, then tells you the steps you need). Burns CDs
only with ISO/Joliet/UDF and
optional verify. It is a bit of a bait and switch since it suddenly stops burning DVDs
just after you have gotten
comfortable with it. They don’t let on it is effectively trialware. It is a nice little program, but has
no business charging the same as the mega-mother suites and especially since there are similar free programs.
You can specify most of the options on the command line, but you still need to manually click to start the burn
and acknowledge the burn completion. To run it run it completely unattended, use the -hide option. Handles video disks too.
- NTI Media
Maker 9 Premium. GUI only.
XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64.
A slightly stripped down version of this program comes bundled with Acer computers. I found it relatively
straight forward. This class of program tends to be aimed at the technogeek.
NTI (NewTech Infosystems) Media Maker 9 Ultimate is .
- Nero 11 Burning ROM. GUI only. W2K/XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64, A friend of mine who has tried many of these burner programs says this one is the best. To get the trial
version to install on Vista, I had to use the custom install option and select F:\Program Files as the install directory. Nero Ultra is an enormous suite of utilities that
do many things besides burn CDs
and DVDs. To burn a CD, click Nero Burning
ROM (Read Only Memory) in the start menu. Then open the ISO image file. Then click burn. It could not get
much simpler than that, unless it prompted you. The utility to burn a collection of files is also unusually
simple and fast, but GUI only. However, it proved overly sensitive, aborting when I tried to do little text
editing on unrelated files while it ran. Nero keeps repacking its code in different bundles with different
names and prices. However, it always has a free GUI-based CD/DVD
burner.
- Roxio Creator 2012
. GUI only. XP/W2003/Vista/W7-32/W7-64. Handles Blu-ray. Upgrades are not free. Roxio Creator 2012 Pro is
The following tools are sometimes recommended for the purpose, but I found them unsuitable: IsoBuster and WinImage.
Windows Burn a CD/DVD without Additional Software
Windows has two built-in techniques for burning CDs
and DVD s, albeit slowly.
- UDF (Universal Disk Format) aka Live File System
- Disc at Once aka Mastered
UDF discs
are only readable on XP and Vista. You can write a file at a time to them. With disc at once, you save up the
files to be written, then write them all at once in one continuous stream usually using a utility like Nero. You
can’t later add more files. These discs can be read anywhere. Further they pack more information on a disc
and write it faster (if you use Nero software), though they are slower to create with just Vista. With Vista,
after you have finished dragging your files to the DVD (actually to a hard disk buffer), you must select
burn to disc to actually burn them on the DVD.
There are other incremental recording schemes, similar to UDF,
but they are obsolete.
Windows Burn a UDF CD/DVD without Additional Software
To burn a UDF CD/DVD, aka Live File System:
- insert a blank CD/DVD.
- Select burn files to disc using Windows.
- Drag files to the CD/DVD drive or copy them with a BAT (Batch) file or at the command prompt. This is a very slow process since it writes to
DVD as
you go. It is best to select several directories at once to drag.
- When it is done, right click properties then eject to
eject the disc.
Windows Burn a Disc-at-once CD/DVD without Additional
Software
To burn a disc-at-once CD/DVD aka Mastered:
- insert a blank CD/DVD.
- Select burn files to disc using Windows.
- Select show formatting options.
- Select Mastered.
- Drag files to the CD/DVD drive. Copying them with a BAT
file or at the command prompt won’t work. This is a very slow process even thought it is just caching the
files to write to disc at this point. It is best to select several directories at once to drag.
- Select Burn Files to Disc.
- When it is done, click Finish to eject the disc.
Beware. Make sure you remember to click burn files to disc for each CD/DVD,(or click
erase temporary files) otherwise you will batch them up and be puzzled why you
can’t burn the files you expect.
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