The Java Environment

© Maurizio Morisio, Marco Torchiano, 2013

Learning objectives
 Understand the basic features of Java
 What are portability and robustness?
 Understand the concepts of bytecode
and interpreter
 What is the JVM?
 Learn few coding conventions
 How shall I name identifiers?

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Java Timeline
 1991: SUN develops a programming
language for cable TV set-top boxes
 Simple, OO, platform independent
 1994: Java-based web browser
(HotJava), the idea of “applet” comes
out
 1996: first version of Java (1.0)
Java timeline (cont’d)
 1996: Netscape supports Java
 Popularity grows
 Java 1.02 released, followed by many updated releases in
close rounds
 1997: Java 1.1 released, major leap over for the
language
 1998: Java 2 platform (v. 1.2) released (libraries)
 2005: Java 5 (language enhancements)
 New features marked with
 2006: Java 6 (Faster Graphics), goes open source
 2011: Java 7 (I/O improvements)

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OO language features
 OO language provides constructs to:
 Define classes (types) in a hierarchic way
(inheritance)
 Create/destroy objects dynamically
 Send messages (w/ dynamic binding)
 No procedural constructs (pure OO
language)
 no functions, class methods only
 no global vars, class attributes only

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Java features
 Platform independence (portability)
 Write once, run everywhere
 Translated to intermediate language
(bytecode)
 Interpreted (with optimizations, e.g. JIT)
 High dynamicity
 Run time loading and linking
 Dynamic array sizes
 Automatic garbage collection

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Java features (cont’d)
 Robust language, i.e. less error prone
 Strong type model and no explicit pointers
– Compile-time checks
 Run-time checks
– No array overflow
 Garbage collection
– No memory leaks
 Exceptions as a pervasive mechanism to
check errors

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Java features (cont’d)
 Shares many syntax elements w/ C++
 Learning curve is less steep for C/C++
programmers
 Quasi-pure OO language
 Only classes and objects (no functions,
pointers, and so on)
 Basic types deviates from pure OO...
 Easy to use

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Java features - Classes
 There is only one first level concept:
the class
public class First {
}
 The source code of a class sits in a
.java file having the same name
 Rule: one file per class
 Enforced automatically by IDEs
 Case-wise name correspondence

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Java features - Methods
 In Java there are no functions, but only
methods within classes
 The execution of a Java program starts
from a special method:
public static void main(String[] args)
In
In C
C we
we find
find the
the function:
function:
 Note int
int main(int
main(int argc,
argc, char*
char* argv[])
argv[])
 return type is void
 args[0] is the first argument on the
command line (after the program name)
Build and run
First.java Output

javac First.java
Java
Virtual Machine
Java compiler

First.class
java -cp . First
bytecode
bytecode
Note:
Note: no
no
extension
extension
Building and running
Build environment Run-Time environment
Java Source Bytecode
(.java) Loader

Bytecode
Java Compiler
Verifier
(javac)

Just In Time
Interpreter (JIT) Compiler
Java ByteCode Java
(.class) Virtual
Machine
(JVM)
Run time

OS/HW

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Dynamic class loading
 JVM loading is based on the classpath:
 list of locations whence classes can be
loaded
 When class X is required:
 For each location in the classpath:
– Look for file X.class
– If present load the class
– Otherwise move to next location
Example

 File: First.java:
public class First {
public static void main(String[] args){
int a;
a = 3;
System.out.println(a);
}
}
Java features (cont’d)
 Supports “programming in the large”
 JavaDoc
 Class libraries (Packages)
 Lots of standard utilities included
 Concurrency (thread)
 Graphics (GUI) (library)
 Network programming (library)
– socket, RMI
– applet (client side programming)

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Types of Java programs
 Application
 It’s a common program, similarly to C
executable programs
 Runs through the Java interpreter (java)
of the installed Java Virtual Machine
public class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String args[]){
System.out.println(“Hello world!”);
}
}

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Types of Java programs
 Applet (client browser)
 Java code dynamically downloaded
 Execution is limited by “sandbox”
 Servlet (web server)
 In J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition)
 Midlet (mobile devices, e.g.
smartphone and PDA)
 In J2ME (Java 2 Micro Edition)

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Java development environment
 Java SE 7
(http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase)
 javac compiler
 jdb debugger
 JRE (Java Run Time Environment)
– JVM
– Native packages (awt, swing, system, etc)
 Docs
 http://docs.oracle.com/javase/
 Eclipse:
 Integrated development environment (IDE)
 http://www.eclipse.org/

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Coding conventions
 Use camelBackCapitalization for
compound names, not underscore
 Class name must be capitalized
 Method name, object instance name,
attributes, method variables must all
start in lowercase
 Constants must be all uppercases (w/
underscore)
 Indent properly

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Coding conventions (example)
class ClassName {

final static double PI = 3.14;

private int attributeName;

public void methodName {

int var;
if ( var==0 ) {
}
}
}

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Deployment - Jar
 Java programs are packaged and
deployed in jar files.
 Jar files are compressed archives
 Like zip files
 Contain some meta-information
 It is possible to directly execute the
contents of a jar file from a JVM
 JVM can load classes from within a JAR
Jar command
 A jar file can be created using:
jar cvf my.jar *.class
 The contents can be seen with:
jar tf my.jar
 To run a class included in a jar:
java -cp my.jar First
 The “-cp my.jar” option adds the jar to the
JVM classpath
Jar Main class
 When a main class for a jar is defined,
it can executed simply by:
java -jar my.jar
 To define a main class, a manifest file
must be added to the jar with:
jar cvfm my.jar manifest.txt

Main-Class: First
FAQ
 Which is more “poweful”: Java or C?
 Performance: C is better though non that
much better (JIT)
 Ease of use: Java
 Error containment: Java
 How can I generate an “.exe” file?
 You cannot. Use an installed JVM to
execute the program
 GCJ: http://gcc.gnu.org/java/
FAQ
 I downloaded Java on my PC but I
cannot compile Java programs:
 Check you downloaded Java SDK
(including the compiler) not Java RTE or
JRE (just the JVM)
 Check the path includes pathToJava/bin
 Note: Eclipse uses a different compiler
than javac
FAQ
 Java cannot find a class
(ClassNotFoundException)
 The name of the class must not include
the extension .class:
– Es. java First
 Check you are in the right place in your
file system
– java looks for classes starting from the
current working directory
Wrap-up session
 Java is a quasi-pure OO language
 Java is interpreted
 Java is robust (no explicit pointers,
static/dynamic checks, garbage collection)
 Java provides many utilities (data types,
threads, networking, graphics)
 Java can used for different types of
programs
 Coding conventions are not “just aesthetic”

28
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