Java: An introduction

Objectives
Appreciate Java as a language,
Write, compile and execute simple java program in command
prompt and eclipse

Table of Content
Java Language

Portable and platform independent

Simple Hello World in Java

Environment to compile and
execute
Setup JDK

JVM: perspectives

JDK installation directory

Automatic garbage collection

Compilation & execution:

command prompt

Classpath

JRE and bytecode

Commenting source code

Interpreter vs JIT
Error handling in java

Introducing Eclipse Helios 3.6 IDE Some Guidelines for Doc comments
Running Different Workspace

javadoc

UI Overview

Nesting comments

Features of Java Language

Annotations
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Java Language
Java was created by a team of members called "Green" led by James
Arthur Gosling.
When Java was created in 1991, it was originally called Oak.
It is a free and open source software (FOSS) under GNU General
Public License(GPL)
First version of Java was released in 1995.
Java is an Object oriented language, simple, portable, platform
independent, robust and secure.
We will be focusing on Java 1.6.

Flavors Of Java
JSE
Java Standard Edition formerly known as J2SE.
This forms the core part of Java language.
JEE
Java Enterprise Edition formerly known as J2EE.
These are the set of packages that are used to develop distributed
enterprise-scale applications.
These applications are deployed on JEE application servers.
JME
Java Micro Edition formerly known as J2ME.
These are the set of packages used to develop application for mobile
devices and embedded systems.

Our focus

Simple Hello World in Java

Hello.java
public class Hello{
public static void main(String args[])
{
System.out.println(Hello World!);
}}
Special statement used to display data
on console. println causes the next print
statement to be printed in the next line.

main() is a method from where

program execution begins.

Environment to compile and execute

Compile java programs
From command prompt
Through an IDE (Integrated development environment)
Eclipse Apache
NetBeans Oracle SDN
JBuilder Borland
Integrated Development Environment IBM

What is an IDE?

Setup JDK
http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp or find appropriate link in
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/indexes/downloads
Download Java based on the type of OS
Windows
Linux
Mac OS
Solaris
Install JDK

JDK installation directory

Java Runtime Environment

Java virtual machine

Java Executables
Java Predefined Classes like
String, Date, Math etc.

Compilation & execution: command prompt

Save the file as Hello.java. A public class must be saved in the same
name as class name.
Compile
C:\MyJava>javac Hello.java
Byte code
javac

Hello.java

Hello.class

compilation
Source code
execution

Execute
C:\MyJava>java Hello

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java

Platform specific code

JRE and bytecode

Java Bytecode is produced when Java programs are compiled.
To execute Java program, JRE must be installed in the system
JRE or Java Runtime environment contains
Java Virtual Machine
Standard class libraries (APIs)
Java Plug-in
Java Webstart
JRE gets installed automatically when JDK is installed. JRE can be
installed independent of JDK as well. This will mean that Java
programs can be executed in that system.

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Introducing Eclipse Helios 3.6 IDE

IDE is where the Java programs are written, compiled and
executed.
Eclipse is an open source project
Launched in November 2001
Designed to help developers with specific development tasks
GUI and non-GUI application development support
Easy integration of tools
Supported by multiple operating systems like Windows, Mac, Linux,
Solaris, IBM AIX and HP-UX.

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Eclipse as an IDE
Java Development Tooling (JDT) is used for building Java code
Provides set of workbench plug-ins for manipulating Java code
Java projects, packages, classes, methods, ....
Java compiler is built in
Used for compiling Java code
Creates errors (special markers of code) if compilation fails
Numerous content types support
Java, HTML, C, XML, ...

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Activity: Installing Eclipse

Download Eclipses Install Zip File from http://www.eclipse.org
Click on the Download from the main page on http://www.eclipse.org
Choose the best site from which to download
Choose the latest build for download
Choose the platform for download and type of download (http or ftp)
Specify the location to save the downloaded file.

Unzip the downloaded file to the

directory of your choice

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Activity: Specifying Workspace

By double-clicking on the eclipse.exe file, the workspace launcher will
pop up.
The workspace is a place where the user defined data projects and
resources such as folders and files are stored.
Always when eclipse is launched, it prompts for a workspace location to
open with.
This prompt could be turned off or on as per the users choice.

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When Eclipse is run, a Welcome page opens

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Running Different Workspace

It is possible to run different workspaces using command prompt
-data argument must be used with eclipse.exe
Workspace location must be specified
Useful for grouping project specific data
Multiple workspaces can run at the same time

Please refer to Eclipse Shortcuts provided in the reference material while

using Eclipse

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UI Overview
Closing the Welcome page gets you to the Eclipse workbench user interface

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Activity : Create and Execute a Java

project
Writing a simple HelloWorld program in Java using Eclipse.
Step 1: Start Eclipse.
Step 2: Create a new workspace called sample and select Ok.
Step 3: Close the Welcome page
Step 4: FileNew Project

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Step 5: Select "Java" in the

category list.
Step 6: Select "Java Project" in
the project list. Click "Next".

Step 7: Enter a project name

into the Project name field, for
example, "Hello World Project".
Click "Finish"
It will ask you if you want the
Java perspective to open.
Select Yes.

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Step 8: Select New Class option

Step 9: Specify the class name
HelloWorld and select "public
static void main(String[] args)"
check box. Click Finish.

Step 10: In the main method enter the

following line.
System.out.println("Hello World"); Save it.

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Step 11: Select Run Run.

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Exercise
Write a java program to display the following
*

*
*

*
*

*
a) Use print and println statements.
b) The class file of this program should be automatically placed inside
Design folder while compiling.
c) Display the version used for compiling.
( 15 mins)

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Features of Java Language

Simple
Object oriented language
Portable and platform independent
Robust

Multithreaded
Dynamic Linking
Secure
Performance

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Portable and platform independent

Java Code can be compiled anywhere
Bytecode can be executed anywhere

Can you make any guesses which statement above is for

portable and which one for platform independence?

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Portable
When java code executes, its behavior is exactly same in any javaaware system.
There are no platform-specific code in java programs that causes
compilation problems in any other OS.
This makes Java programs are portable.

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Platform Independent
A Java program requires JVM (part of JRE) to execute Java code.
When java application starts to executes, Java Virtual Machine also
starts.
Bytecode has instructions that Java Virtual Machine can understand
and execute.
JVM converts the Bytecode to machine specific code.
Java Bytecode can be copied on to any machine that has JVM and
executed. This is what makes Java Platform Independent.
Write Once, Run any where

Is JVM platform independent?

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JVM: perspectives
JVM can be looked as
a runtime instance: JVM life cycle begins when applications
starts to run ( that is when main method is called) and ends
when the application ends.
the abstract specification: Specification that Java team at Sun
(Oracle) provides which tells JVM makers how they must design
JVM for their OS.
a concrete implementation: JVM that is built specifically targeted
for an OS based on abstract specification .

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Interpreter vs JIT
Java Bytecodes were originally designed to be interpreted by JVM
meaning bytecode are translated to machine code without it being
stored anywhere.
Since bytecode verifier (which is part of JVM) performs runtime
checks, line by line execution was important.
Since speed became an issue, Just-in-Time Compilation (JIT) came
into being. JIT converts chunks of code, stores it temporarily in
memory and then executes the converted code.
JIT compilers are typically bundled with or are a part of a virtual
machine and do the conversion to native code at runtime, on
demand.
The compiler also does automatic register allocation and some
optimization when it produces the bytecodes.
Therefore, JIT is hybrid compiler.
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Error handling in java

Compilation error : generated by the compiler. Examples of situation
when it arises:
incorrect syntax, bracket mismatch, if keywords are used as
variables
Using uninitialized variables
Unreachable code: while(false){}
Strong type checking
Run-time error : generated by the JVM.
Examples of situation when it arises:
Attempt to divide an integral value by 0 or access array index
beyond the defined range.
Trying to access a class that does not exist at runtime. (What
happens if you delete Hello.class and then run Hello.
Java has a strong exception handing mechanism that allows
programmers to handle such errors and come out of the situation
gracefully.
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Automatic garbage collection

The garbage collector is a tool that attempts to free unreferenced
memory (memory occupied by objects that are no longer in use by the
program) in programs.
Automatic garbage collection is an integral part of Java and its run-time
system.
Java technology has no pointers. So there is no question of allocation
and freeing by programmers.
Does that mean Java does not support dynamic memory allocation?
No. It means that Java takes care of memory and relieves the
programmers from memory-related hassles.
java verbose:gc can be used to get more information about garbage
collection process.
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Classpath
Classpath is an environment variable that java compiler and JVM
(system class loader) use to locate the classes in the file system.
To set the classpath temporarily in command line
SET CLASSPATH=directory;%CLASSPATH%;.
Command to set classpath while compiling
javac classpath dir1;dir2 Someclass.java
Example: javac classpath C:/MyJava
Command to specify un-compiled source file to be compiled and
included in the classpath
javac sourcepath dir1;dir2 Someclass
Example: javac sourcepath C:/MyJava
Providing classpath while executing
java classpath directory1;directory2
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Exercise to understand classpath

public class A{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
String curDir = System.getProperty("user.dir");
System.out.println(curDir);
}
}
This code is in C:\MyJava folder. If this code is executed from
C:\MyJava, it prints the current directory.
What command will make sure that this code can be executed from
any location?
(10 mins)
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Commenting source code

Question: Why should you comment your code?
How much should you comment?
3 types of comment
Single line comment : //
// this is a single line comment

Multi-line comment: /* */
/* this is multi
line comment */

Documentation Comment (Doc comment): /** */

/** This class is used to represent a stack.
* @author Murali
* @version 1.0, 08/16/2010
*/

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Some Guidelines for Doc comments

Who owns and edits the Doc Comments: usually the programmer
Doc comments for classes, methods, fields:
Brief description of what it does. In case longer description is
required, link to an external document (word, pdf) can be included.
For methods, whether they are thread-safe and what runtime
exception they throw must be specified.
Proper indentation of documentation for better readability.
Revisit this after threads
Entities for the less-than (<) and greater-than (>) symbols
should be
and exception
written &lt; and &gt;. Likewise, the ampersand (&) should be written
&amp;.

Visit this after finishing Java

For More Information refer

http://download.oracle.com/javase/1.4.2/docs/tooldocs/windows/javadoc.html#documentationcomments
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javadoc
Tool that is used to produce HTML pages by parsing through the
documentation comment in java source code.
Produces documentation for public and protected classes/members.
Works on entire package or a single source file
Usage on source file
javadoc sourcefilename.java

javadoc College.java

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Nesting comments
Valid Nesting
/* // */
/** // */
///* */
// /** */
Invalid Nesting
/* */ and /** */ nested with itself and nested with each
other gives error.
/* /* */ */
/** /* */ */

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Annotations
Annotations are extra text starting with @ symbol that are added in
the Java program to provide information about a program.
Annotations do not directly affect program semantics.
They provide information about the program to tools and libraries,
which can in turn affect the semantics of the running program.
Annotations can be read from source files, class files, or reflectively
at run time.

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Uses
Annotations for the compiler

Example:
@SuppressWarnings : can be used by the compiler to
detect errors or suppress warnings
Annotations for the application servers and tools
Application server tools can process annotation information to
generate code etc for services it provides like security etc.
javadoc tool uses annotations like
@author, @version, @param, @return
Runtime processing Some annotations are available to be
examined at runtime.

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Exercise
Provide java doc comments for the class created in the previous
exercise and generate HTML document files. Use documentation
annotation.
(10 mins)

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Summary
Java was created by a team of members called "Green" led by James
Arthur Gosling in 1991 and it was originally called as Oak.
IDE is where the Java programs are written, compiled and executed.
Simple, Object oriented language, Portable and platform independent,
Robust, Multithreaded, Dynamic Linking, Secure and Performance are
some of the features of Java Language
Automatic garbage collection is an integral part of Java.
Classpath environment variable is used to locate classes in the file system.
Javadoc is a tool that is used to produce HTML pages by parsing through
the documentation comment in java source code.
Annotations are extra text starting with @ symbol that is added in the Java
program to provide information about a program.

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