Exactly how jEdit is started depends on the operating system. For example, on Unix you can run “jedit” at the command line, or select jEdit from a menu; on Windows, you can double-click on the jEdit icon or select it from the Start menu.

If jEdit is started while another copy is already running, control is transferred to the running copy, and a second instance is not loaded. This saves time and memory if jEdit is started multiple times. Communication between instances of jEdit is implemented using TCP/IP sockets; the initial instance is known as the server, and subsequent invocations are clients.
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