New to Java
Hello everyone,
This is my first post and I hope this forum will be very helpful as I "attempt" to learn Java. I have a book, that I've had for a long time, Dietel How to Program Java (4th Edition) and it has a CD with an older JDK and Forte.
I would like to download and install a newer JDK and IDE that I could use while working thru the book. I'd like a recommendation. I know there' s a few different IDEs, but I would like one that is free, because I am only working on desktop for now.
I'd appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks, everyone!
Chris
[589 byte] By [
BigKahunaa] at [2007-11-26 13:46:38]
> I suggest to use eclipse (http://www.eclipse.org) as
> IDE.
I use eclipse as my ide, but if you are starting out I would strongly suggest starting with something like textpad to start with. Learn with the basics and then move on to the more advanced items, that way you will understand the basics before you get confused by the advanced. It's the same reason you start off with something like hello world instead of starting by writing a multi-threaded webserver.
The best advice you can get is don't use an IDE until you are familiar with Java and its tools. Start with a good programmer's text editor (TextPad, UltraEdit, JEdit, etc). Don't touch an IDE until you can:
1) Compile your programs using javac from the command line. This includes understanding the errors that the compiler generates.
2) Run your programs from the command line
3) Create and execute .jar files.
4) Understand the CLASSPATH variable, and fix the CLASSPATH errors that will invariably happen when you run your programs.
Once you can do these tasks comfortably and competently, *then* research what IDE is best to use for your situation.
