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Java For Python Programmers Edition 2

Brad Miller and Jan Pearce

Section 1.2 Java Development Environment

Note 1.2.1.

Thank you to Beryl Hoffman for contributing to this section from her CSAwesome: AP Java Programming book.
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The tool that we use to compile a Java source file into a Java class file is called a compiler. Most programmers use an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that has the compiler built in and helps you write, compile, run, and debug programs.
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You can learn Java by just using the interactive coding panels called Active Code in this e-book. If you are logged in, the Active Code will remember your changes and even show you a history of your changes to the code if you click on Load History.
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However, it’s a good idea to also try a Java IDE to build code outside of this e-book, especially to try coding with user input which Active Code cannot do. There are many Java IDEs available.
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Subsection 1.2.1 Java IDE Options

There are a lot of online cloud IDEs where you can code online in many programming languages. Most are free to start, but offer different features for a price. These are great options if you are using a Chromebook or you cannot install software on your computer or you want an easy no-installation option. Some of the Active Code samples in this e-book also include a link to online IDEs. These projects can be copied to make your own copy.
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Here are some popular online IDEs:
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  • CodeHS (https://codehs.com/
     1 
    codehs.com/
    ) has a free Sandbox online IDE (https://codehs.com/app/sandbox
     2 
    codehs.com/app/sandbox
    ) where you can run Java and Java Swing programs. Students can share the links to their code and the history of their code is saved. CodeHS has free and paid features. Grading features are in the paid version.
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  • PickCode (https://pickcode.io/
     3 
    https://pickcode.io/
    ) is another online IDE that offers many free and paid features for setting up classrooms. In the free version, tudents can share links to their code and the history of their code is saved. Classroom features are in the paid version.
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  • Replit (https://replit.com/
     4 
    https://replit.com/
    ) an online IDE which recently switched to only allowing 3 projects at a time for free. Be aware that Replit has turned on its AI feature for code completion for all accounts (https://replit.com/ai
     5 
    https://replit.com/ai
    ). Each user can turn the AI on and off at the bottom of the code window, and use an AI chat window to ask questions of the AI.
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  • JuiceMind (https://juicemind.com/
     6 
    https://juicemind.com/
    ) is an online IDE that offers many free and paid features for teachers to set up classrooms like Coding Rooms. It has a built-in version of CSAwesome.
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Subsection 1.2.2 Github Classroom and Codespaces

Github provides many free opportunities for students and teachers (https://docs.github.com/en/education/quickstart
 7 
https://docs.github.com/en/education/quickstart
). Github Classroom (https://classroom.github.com/
 8 
https://classroom.github.com/
) allows teachers to set up a classroom based on github repositories. Github and git are both widely used in the computer industry, so learning to use them is great experience for students. Github now has a cloud IDE called Codespaces (https://github.com/features/codespaces
 9 
https://github.com/features/codespaces
) which you can use for 60 hours a month for free or completely free if you join as a school or get approved as a teacher or student. In Codespaces, you can start from a blank template or a repo, open a .java file in the VSCode editor, follow prompts to install the Extension Pack for Java, click on the Run and Debug (play button), follow the prompts to install the Java debugger, and see the output of your code in the terminal. You can also use Copilot (https://github.com/features/copilot
 10 
https://github.com/features/copilot
), which is a coding AI based on GPT, for free if you are approved for educational use.
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Students will need to sign up for a free Github account (https://github.com/signup
 11 
https://github.com/signup
) if they don’t already have one in order to use Codespaces.
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Subsection 1.2.3 VSCode

VSCode (https://code.visualstudio.com
 12 
https://code.visualstudio.com
) is a widely used coding editor which you can download on your local computers. It has many useful extensions. The code can be run in a terminal window in the editor. See https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/java
 13 
https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/java
for Java support. This editor is different than Microsoft Visual Studio which is a very large IDE.
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Subsection 1.2.4 Dr. Java

DrJava (from http://DrJava.org
 14 
http://DrJava.org
) is a free, simple, easy to install and use development environment. One nice feature is the interactions pane at the bottom which lets you try out Java code without having to create a class first.
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Subsection 1.2.5 BlueJ

BlueJ (https://www.bluej.org/
 15 
https://www.bluej.org/
) is a free Java IDE designed for beginners. It is built to explore objects and object-oriented programming and has a teachers’ community as well as a playlist of videos online https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYPWr4ErjcnzWB95MVvlKArO6PIfv1fHd
 16 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYPWr4ErjcnzWB95MVvlKArO6PIfv1fHd
to go with the BlueJ Object-First Java book.
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Subsection 1.2.6 jGRASP

jGRASP (https://www.jgrasp.org/
 17 
https://www.jgrasp.org/
) is a free lightweight development environment, created specifically to provide automatic generation of software visualizations. jGRASP is implemented in Java, and runs on all platforms with a Java Virtual Machine (Java version 1.5 or higher). jGRASP produces Control Structure Diagrams (CSDs) for Java, C, C++, Objective-C, Python, Ada, and VHDL; Complexity Profile Graphs (CPGs) for Java and Ada; UML class diagrams for Java; and has dynamic object viewers and a viewer canvas that work in conjunction with an integrated debugger and workbench for Java. The site includes both intro video and PDF tutorials.
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Subsection 1.2.7 IntelliJ

IntelliJ (https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/
 18 
https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/
) is a free Java IDE from JetBrains which many professionals use. It is a little easier to configure than Eclipse below. Here is a guide on how to set up IntelliJ: https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/install-and-set-up-product.html
 19 
https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/install-and-set-up-product.html
.
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Subsection 1.2.8 Netbeans

Netbeans (https://netbeans.org/
 20 
https://netbeans.org/
) is one of the original Java IDEs. Here is a tutorial on how to set it up: https://netbeans.org/kb/docs/java/quickstart
 21 
https://netbeans.org/kb/docs/java/quickstart
.
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Subsection 1.2.9 Eclipse

Eclipse (https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/installer
 22 
https://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/installer
) is what many professional Java programmers use. It may be a little complex for beginners. Here are some installation and configuration instructions for Eclipse for Java beginners: http://skylit.com/javamethods/faqs/Eclipse.pdf
 23 
http://skylit.com/javamethods/faqs/Eclipse.pdf
.
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