TCP2201 Object Oriented Analysis and Design

Lab 1 Introductory programs

Lab outcomes
By the end of todays lab, you should be able to
identify and distinguish between Java command line and graphical applications and Java
applets.
edit, compile and execute Java program code for applications and applets
understand basic Java code components and programming requirements
What is Java?
Java programs can be broadly categorized into two types, namely (i) applications and (ii)
applets. Applications can either run as a command-line program (i.e. without any graphical
interface) or with a GUI. Applets run as mini applications within web browsers and are used
to enhance the web experience for visitors to a website.
All Java programs have file names that end with .java extension. Being an object-oriented
language, Java organizes code in a set of classes. As a convention plus a necessity of the
compiler/runtime, the name of the file containing a program must exactly match with the class
name.
Your first Java (command line) application
Use a text editor, enter the following program code. The code creates a simple example of a
Java application. A Java application is a standalone program that can be executed by using just
the Java runtime interpreter and does not require a browser to run.
class myProg {
public static void main (String[] a) {
System.out.println(Hello World!) ;
}
}
Since the above class has a name myProg, the above file must be stored as myProg.java.
Java is case-sensitive, so capital and small letters are treated differently in the code as well as
filenames.
Java cannot run program code directly efficiently so it must be compiled this creates a binary
for the platform your program is running on. The same code will compile on Windows, Mac,
*Nix, Solaris and other platforms and create unique binaries specifically for the platform it was
compiled on.
The above program is compiled and run as follows (shown on Windows platform). Open a
command prompt window and type the following commands, pressing [Enter] after each line

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C:\> javac myProg.java

C:\> java myProg
Hello World!

(Invoking the compiler)

(Invoking run-time interpreter)
(The output of the program)

If any errors occurred, the compiler or interpreter will exit with error code.
All Java applications require that a main function be defined with the attributes public and
static. In the example, main is declared as void since the method does not return a value.
The main function expects one (1) argument, a reference to an array of String objects
these are arguments passed during runtime. The array holds any command-line arguments
passed to the program when it is executed from the command line. To illustrate this feature,
modify the program as follows:
class argProg{
public static void main(String[] a){
if(a.length==0)
System.out.println("Welcome to Java");
else
System.out.println("This is the first Java program of "
+ a[0]);
}
}
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What is the name of the save file for this program?

What is the file output of the compilation process?
What does the code statement (a.length==0) tell the program?
What happens if no arguments are passed?
What happens when two or more arguments are passed?

Compile and run the above application using the command: java argProg
Run the program again with a name as a command line argument.
Example: java argProg Adam
Compare the output from the programs above.
EXERCISE

Change the program code so that it displays the number of arguments passed in during
program execution.
Change the program to accept any number of arguments in the command line such as
java argProg Martin Kalin
and print out all the passed arguments

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Your first Java applet

Java applets are Java programs that MUST run inside a Java enabled web browser (applets can
be embedded in a web page using a special HTML Tag). They have the advantages of the
structure the browser provides - an existing window, event handling, graphics context and the
surrounding user interface.
Applets make use of Java libraries ready made code for common functions and features in
applets. To run the code, the browser first loads the web page. Upon encountering applet tags
in the webpage, the browser requests for the compiled applet binary from the web server.
When it receives the binary it proceeds to run the applet in the browser window along with the
required libraries (located on the user end).
An example of a simple applet is given below. Copy and paste the code below into your text
editor.
import java.awt.*;
import java.applet.*;
import java.util.*;
public class Welcome extends Applet{
public void paint(Graphics g){
Font f=new Font("Times New Roman",Font.BOLD,20);
g.setColor(Color.cyan);
g.fillRect(0,0,800,600);
g.setFont(f);
g.setColor(Color.yellow);
g.fillRect(10,10,400,60);
g.setColor(Color.pink);
g.fillRect(10,90,400,60);
g.setColor(Color.blue);
g.drawString("Welcome to the world of Java Applets",20,40);
g.drawString("Today is "+ new Date(),20,120);
}
}
Note that all applets are subclasses of the libray java.applet.Applet. The source file may
contain more than one class, but only one class MUST be the subclass of Applet (this is
specified as extends Applet) and the name of the file must be the same as the name of this class.
Unlike a Java application, the applets execution proceeds though the invocation of a series of
predetermined methods such as init (where all initialization code is placed), paint (where all
code related to the output is placed) start (to start execution of a program) and stop (to stop
running thread/program).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What is the name of the save file for the program shown above?
Which method does the applet above call/use when running in a browser?
How many libraries are imported in the code above?
What does the asterisk mean at the end of each library declaration?
What is the command to compile the code above?

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6. What is the output after compilation of the code?

To run your applet, you need to load it into a browser. To do this, create and save a html file
called view.html (or any other name you wish) to the same location as your Java program
with the following contents
<html>
<applet code="Welcome.class" width=500 height=300>
</applet>
</html>
You can try executing the applet with the html file by double-clicking the view.html file (NOTE:
that most current operating systems may block execution of locally hosted applets from
running in the browser). Alternatively, you can load the applet with the appletviewer program
provided by Java. The appletviewer is a stripped down web browser with minimal
functionality to allow you to test basic applets.
To use appletviewer, open a command window and navigate to the directory of your saved
files. Type in the following command
appletviewer view.html
Appletview starts, loads the view.html file which then loads Welcome.class applet binary.

You will encounter more applets in later labs in this course.

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Your first Java GUI application

Java graphical applications are standalone programs that have a user interface (windows,
icons, menus and pointers) for user interaction. They do not need to run in a browser but still
require the Java runtime to execute. Java graphical applications are similar to command-line
applications and MUST have a main function in the code to run. Copy and save the program
code below then compile and run the program binary.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class gui extends JFrame{
public gui(String title){
super(title);
setSize(300,100);
Container content = getContentPane();
content.setBackground(Color.white);
content.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
content.add(new JLabel("Hello world!"));
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
public static void main (String args[]){
JFrame nframe = new gui("This is a GUI application");
nframe.setVisible(true);
}
}
1. What is the command to compile and run the code above?
2. What libraries are imported to create the application?
3. How do you add another line of text to display the sentence This is my first GUI
application below Hello World!?
4. Which method/function is called during program execution to display the application?
EXERCISE
Using the code from the examples above, covert the Java applet above into a Java GUI
application. What are the changes that need to be made?

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