Supplements
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Java 5.0 Features
The JVM
Advanced JVMs
Alt. Compilers
Alt. JVMs
Java Deployment

To begin developing Java programs, follow these steps:

Step 1: Obtain the Software Development Kit (SDK) for J2SE (Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition), which assumes typical desktop resources of memory, CPU speed, and disk space:

• The SDK is available for free from Sun MicroSystems for several common platforms. See the resources page for alternate platforms and also for independent compilers and JVMs from independent sources.
  
  
• The SDK contains the essentials needed to create and run Java programs.
  
  
• The SDK includes
• Java executables - javac (compiler), java (interpreter), appletviewer, etc.
• Class libraries
  
  
• Current (as of Oct.2004) release of Java 2 is version 5.0 (previously 1.5).
  

Step 2: Install the SDK

• The SDK now comes with an automatic installer for most common platforms. Just run this program and follow its instructions.
  
  
• The installer should also place a plug-in into the browsers that it finds on your system.
  

Step 3: Install Documentation

• We recommend that you have ready access to the Java 2 API Specification since the descriptions of the core language classes will be very useful during program development. If you do not have broadband continual Internet access, you may want to download the documentation from Sun and install it on your local drive.

References & Web Resources

• New to Java Programming Center at java.sun.com - lots of info on how to get your Java progamming going
  • Setting Up and Getting Started in Java Programming - info about different platforms.
  • Installation Notes for Windows - includes instructions on how to set the path environmental variable
• Your First Cup of Java - Sun Java Tutorial - instructions for installing Java on Windows, Linux/Unix, and Mac OS platforms.
• Chapter 1: Supplements section discusses various options for deploying Java applets and applications to other platforms.
• Java Plug-in
• Java books useful for this course:
  • Learning Java, 2nd Ed., Patrick Niemeyer & Jonathan Knudson, 2002. Excellent book that covers most of the techniques discussed in the Java track of chapters 1-12 and in the networking chapters 13-15.
  • More introductory Java books listed in references.
• Java for Engineers and Scientists, by Stephen J. Chapman, 2000, Prentice-Hall.
• Technical Java: Applications for Science and Engineering, by Grant Palmer, 2003, Prentice-Hall
• More Java & tech books and more Java & math books listed in references.

Latest update: Oct.10, 2004

            Tech
Java in Science
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           Physics
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