Create a classpath dynamically

In order to create a classpath dynamically, containing all jars in a certain directory lib, from within a batch file (Windows), just do the following:

1. Create a cpAppend.bat file, just containing:
   
set CLASSPATH=%CLASSPATH%;%1

   
   
2. In the runnable batch file, add the following to construct the path dynamically:
   
set CLASSPATH=
for %%i in (lib\*.jar) do call cpappend.bat %%i

   
   The variable CLASSPATH will now contain all jars in the lib dir
   

That's it! On Linux/Unix the method is very similar.