To work on your own computer, you will
need:
You should also get:
Any program that can create text files (even
Notepad) can be used as a text editor to create Java programs, as long as you
have the Java Development Kit. However, many people prefer
using an application intended to create program files because they can be set up
to do proper code indentation automatically, and even compile and run programs
directly from the editor. The “Dr. Java” environment is
installed in the labs, and is recommended because it has enough features to make
it useful, but not so many that it is difficult to use. Plus,
it is available at no charge.
If you have some prior experience, your
major is computer science or software engineering, or you intend to do lots of
programming in the future, you may wish to also see the power users
section.
Contents of
the CD included with the Textbook
If you purchased the recommended course
textbook (or another Java book), it might include a CD with the Java Development
Kit. Insert the CD into your CD drive, and a window will
appear automatically.
It would allow you to install JDK, the “Java
Development Kit”. When you click install, the installation
program will help you install the software. See below for
more information about the Java development kit.
It might also prompt you to install the
“jGrasp” environment (or another environment, possibly
including Dr. Java). This software provides an editor for
entering Java programs, as well as additional features. You
can install and use this software if you wish, but this software will not be
installed in the labs, and you are on your own for learning how to use
it.
The Java system used in the labs for ITI
1120 is the Java 7 Platform Standard Edition. To create
programs, you will need to get the Java Development Kit (JDK).
The documentation is available on-line, but if you want to view the
documentation off-line, it can also be downloaded. There is
no charge for the use of this software or documentation.
If you work on your own
computer, be sure that your programs will run on the machines in
You should be aware that there is some
confusion with the version numbers and terminology of Java
installations. When going from the previous Java version
1.4.2 to the “next” version, the new version has been identified as both 5.0 and
1.5.0. This page will use 5, 6 or 7 as the version
number. Also, the terms SDK (Software Development Kit) and
JDK (Java Development Kit) have been used interchangeably; at present, the
current preferred term is JDK.
Use a recent JDK version available on line. The version on the CD in the text book is OK too. The JDK download file is a big file; a high-speed connection is highly recommended to download the file.
·
On that page, scroll to SDK the
latest stable version , and click on the download link (a version without
Bundles, NetBeans, EE is sufficient).
Any JDK > 5.0 is OK
too.
The download file is a self-installing
executable (.exe) file. If your system will automatically
execute such files, most of the work will happen
automatically. If your system does not
automatically execute downloaded files, you will have to follow the complete
procedure described in the installation instructions.
In either case, read the instructions carefully so that your
system is set up to compile programs easily.
If you can type
javac or java at a command line prompt and a list of options is given, you have
installed everything correctly. If you get a message similar
to “javac is not recognized as a command (etc.)”, then
the installation is not complete, and you should check if the installation
instructions was done correctly.
There are two types of documentation: the Application Programmer’s Interface (API), and technical documentation about the JDK. The Application Programmer’s Interface is the documentation you will most likely use: it has descriptions of all the pre-defined classes and methods that come with Java. Both types of documentation are available on line. Unless you expect to be working off-line frequently (for example, on a portable computer), downloading the documentation is not necessary.
· View the Application Programmer’s Interface (API) documentation.
·
View the complete JDK documentation.
Also available free of charge is “Dr. Java”
environment, the editing environment provided in the SITE computer labs. Click
here to go to the “Dr. Java” web
page.
Once you are there, you will have three
download options. The recommended version is the “Windows
App” (the .exe file). Download the
file and make sure to remember where you saved it on your computer.
Alternatively, you can download the .jar file (much smaller) that works
if the Java Virtual Machine is already installed and accessible on your
machine.
If you have already installed the Java
software development kit, you should be able to start the Dr. Java environment
by double-clicking on the icon of the file that you saved.
If you installed the latest stable version,
when Dr. Java starts, you should see a window similar to the
following:
The first time you run Dr. Java, you may be
asked to locate the directory in which you installed the Java Development Kit
(JDK), or specify the location of a file called tools.jar. For
example, the Java JDK (update 21) might be installed in the default location
of
C:\Program
Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_17
then the tools.jar file will be
in
C:\Program
Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_17\lib.
If you installed the JDK somewhere else, then locate the tools.jar file in a folder called
lib contained in the directory where you
installed the JDK.
You may not see the line numbers; if you want to turn them on, click on the Edit menu and select “Preferences”. In the categories area, click on “Display Options” and then check the “Show all line numbers” box.
If you have some prior experience
(surfing the web or downloading MP3 files doesn’t count!), you may wish to use a
more advanced environment. An "integrated development environment" (IDE)
contains a collection of tools that can help you enter, run, document, test, and
debug programs.
A full-featured IDE for Java is called "Eclipse". It is installed
in the
This IDE is recommended only for students with prior
programming experience, and who intend to do serious programming some
day. If you want to download it
for your own computer, be warned that it is over 105 Mb in size, and will
take a very long time to download unless you have a high speed connection.
You are also on your own to learn how to use it! (Eclipse comes with a
tutorial and many help files.)
All software mentioned on this page is available for free download.
Please read the license agreements for terms of use.
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page