command to create shortcut for an application in the start menu for linux
 

hi everyone,
i have made a small application using java and pgsql, now i want to create a shortcut for running my application in the linux start menu bar, i want it to de done when i will be installing the software on a machine, just like in windows when it asks for creation of shortcut in the menu bar, what is the command for it which when executed within a shell script will create a shortcut at the time of installation

waiting eagerly for the reply
thanks in advance

Linux has no start menu.

Do you use Gnome or KDE? (Or should I dare to ask Fluxbox etc. ;) )