Java on MAC OS 10.4 (macOS forum at Coderanch) (original) (raw)

One thing that is suggested by some books is to first do a HelloWorld from the command-line.

1. Use the text-editor of your choice and make sure that you save as plain text.
2. From the command-line run the Java compiler.

javac HelloWorld.java

3. Also from the command-line, run the Java byte-code interpreter.

java HelloWorld.

This first HelloWorld program teaches that java tools aren't necessarily part of the IDE that you're using.

Also of value, is to run the command:

java -version

This will display the default version of Java that you're using -- you may have more than one version installed though.

To do real work, you'll need an IDE such as NetBeans, Eclipse, or XCode -- they're all free. XCode is Apple's IDE.

There are so many templates in XCode that it's hard to find a simple one for a HelloWorld and/or simple exercises, using Java.

According to Apple, the "Java Tool" template is right for HelloWorld and it's good for exercises where you may need a debugger.

NetBeans, Eclipse, and XCode are all professional tools.

I've tried BlueJ, but in my opinion, it does too much hand-holding trying to make things simple and it penalizes you if you know anything. For example, I couldn't type in a package declaration -- BlueJ requires too many things to go through its menus.

Kaydell
[ April 12, 2007: Message edited by: Kaydell Leavitt ]