Scribd
Upload
81 views3 pages

You Need The Java API. (See The Section Entitled, "Code You Can Use.")

The document discusses the tools needed to write Java programs, including: 1) The Java API and documentation to understand how to write Java code. 2) An editor like Microsoft Word to write the program text without formatting. 3) An integrated development environment (IDE) with panes to edit, view documentation, and issue commands like compiling and running programs. The IDE allows seamless work across these tasks. 4) Some computers may already have a Java virtual machine, compiler, or IDE with Java tools installed.

Uploaded by

stipan1989_375226194
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
81 views3 pages

You Need The Java API. (See The Section Entitled, "Code You Can Use.")

The document discusses the tools needed to write Java programs, including: 1) The Java API and documentation to understand how to write Java code. 2) An editor like Microsoft Word to write the program text without formatting. 3) An integrated development environment (IDE) with panes to edit, view documentation, and issue commands like compiling and running programs. The IDE allows seamless work across these tasks. 4) Some computers may already have a Java virtual machine, compiler, or IDE with Java tools installed.

Uploaded by

stipan1989_375226194
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

You need the Java API. (See the section entitled, Code you can use.

)
_ You need the Java API documentation. (Again, see the Code you can use section.)
You also need some less exotic tools:
_ You need an editor to compose your Java programs.
Listing 1-1 contains part of a computer program. When you come right down to it, a
computer program is a big bunch of text. So to write a computer program, you need an
editor a tool for creating text documents.
An editor is a lot like Microsoft Word, or like any other word processing program. The
big difference is that an editor adds no formatting to your text no bold, no italic, no
distinctions among fonts. Computer programs have no formatting whatsoever. They
have nothing except plain old letters, numbers, and other familiar keyboard characters.
_ You need a way to issue commands.
You need a way to say things like compile this program and run the Java virtual
machine.
Every computer provides ways of issuing commands. (You can double-click icons or
type verbose commands in a Run dialog box.) But when you use your computers
facilities, you jump from one window to another. You open one window to read Java
documentation, another window to edit a Java program, and a third window to start up
the Java compiler. The process can be very tedious.
In the best of all possible worlds, you do all your program editing, documentation reading,
and command issuing through one nice interface. This interface is called an integrated
development environment (IDE).
A typical IDE divides your screens work area into several panes one pane for editing
programs, another pane for listing the names of programs, a third pane for issuing
commands, and other panes to help you compose and test programs. You can arrange the
panes for quick access. Better yet, if you change the information in one pane, the IDE
automatically updates the information in all the other panes.

Up

20

Part I: Revving

Some fancy environments give you point-and-click, drag-and-drop, plug-andplay, hop-skipand-jump access to your Java programs. If you want your program to display a text box,
then you click a text box icon and drag it to the workspace on your screen.
Figure 1-6 illustrates the use of a drag-and-drop IDE. In Figure 1-6, I create a program that
displays two images, two text fields, and two buttons. To help me create the program, I use
the Eclipse IDE with the Jigloo graphical plug-in. (For a taste of Eclipse, visit www.eclipse.org.
For more info on the neato Jigloo graphical user interface builder, check out
www.cloudgarden.com.)

Figure 1-6:
Using the Eclipse IDE with the Jigloo graphical user interface builder.

An IDE helps you move seamlessly from one part of the programming endeavor to another.
With an IDE, you dont have to worry about the mechanics of editing, compiling, and
running a Java virtual machine. Instead, you can worry about the logic of writing programs.
(Wouldnt you know it? One way or another, you always have something to worry about!)

Whats already on your hard drive?


You may already have some of the tools you need for creating Java programs.
Here are some examples:

Chapter 1: Getting Started

21

Most versions of Windows come with a Java virtual machine. Look for a file
named java.exe in your \windows\system32 directory.

Most computers running Mac OS X come with a Java compiler, a Java virtual
machine, and a Java API.

Some IDEs come with their own Java tools. For example

You might also like