Getting Started with JCODER

Today Java is used widely across the internet but it is also an invisible force behind many of the applications and devises that power our day-to-day lives. Mobile phones, handheld devises, games and navigation systems can all be Java driven.

To start developing Java applications, people tend to use Eclipse. However, for beginners, it would be easier for them to learn Java using a Lightweight Java IDE. This article will teach users to setup Java development environment and develop a basic program using JCODER.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to -

• Download and install Java Development Kit (JDK) on Windows platform

• Set up Java programming environment

• How to type, compile and run a HelloWorld program in Java by using command prompt

• Download and install JCODER

• How to type, compile and run a HelloWorld program in Java by using JCODER

Download JDK

1. Go to http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads
2. Locate JDK 6 Update 6 and click the Download button next to it. This includes the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and command-line development tools.
3. Select Windows for Platform. Check the box I agree to ... and click the button Continue.
4. Click directly on the file name under either Windows Online Installation or Windows Offline Installation to download with your browser.
5. Click Save to save it to disk e.g. under C:\download\.
6. After download is completed, locate the file in your directory.

Install JDK

1. Double-click on the downloaded file to start the installation.
2. Read the license agreement and then click Accept.
3. Note that the default installation path for JDK is C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_06\ and that for JRE is C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_06\. Click Next to proceed.
4. The installation will take several minutes. Click Finish after the installation is done.

Set up Java Programming Environment

1. In Windows, go to Control Panel and double-click System.

2. Select Advanced tab and click Environment Variables.

3. Under System variables box, select the variable Path and then click the button Edit.

4. Go to the end of the Path variable. Type a semi-colon and then your JDK bin path,
e.g. ;C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_06\bin . Click OK.

5. You are ready to write, compile and run a HelloWorld java program now!

HelloWorld in Command Prompt

1. Create a directory e.g. C:\project\ in Windows Explorer. Then create a file named HelloWorld.java there.

2. Open the file HelloWorld.java with any text editor e.g. Notepad. Type the following code and save the file.

public class HelloWorld {
  public static void main(String[] args) {     
    System.out.println("Hello World!");
  }
}

3. Open a Command Prompt window by clicking Start > Run... and type cmd.

4. In Command Prompt, type in cd \project and then type in dir. This will show the content under this directory and you will see the file HelloWorld.java listed.

5. By using the command javac, you are about to compile java files. Now, type in javac HelloWorld.java to compile it.




6. After compilation completed, type in dir again and you will see there is a HelloWorld.class created.




7. By using the command java, you are about to run java programs. Now, type in java HelloWorld to execute it. This will print out the line Hello World! in the command prompt.