Setting up an Integrated Development Environment(IDE)
Before we get started writing code, we must download an IDE. There are many IDEs for Java out there but for our purposes we will be looking at three of the most common Java IDEs.
IntelliJ IDEA
Eclipse
NetBeans
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IntelliJ is considered by many to be the best IDE for Java and related languages. IntelliJ lets the user access more of what's under the hood which leads to a steeper learning curve.
Considering that this course is geared toward beginners, we will not be using IntelliJ in this course but it is worth noting.
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Eclipse is arguably the most popular IDE for Java and supports many other languages as well. Eclipse is open source and easy to use for new developers.
Unfortunatly, Eclipse is a very heavy program and it is known to run slowly and is not optimized for productivity in the same way IntelliJ is.
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NetBeans is an older IDE that struggles to keep up with more modern IDEs. However, there is an enormous amount of documentation and courses available for NetBeans. NetBeans is easy to use for new developers.
Step 1
In this case, we will be using Eclipse to write our first application with.
Download Eclipse from the link provided.
Eclipse Download
Step 2
Run the install wizard and select 'Eclipse IDE for Java Developers'
Step 3
Select the latest version of the Java Development Kit or JDK to install
Step 4
Launch Eclipse into the default workspace directory
That's all there is to it! Now you have installed and launched your IDE and we are almost ready to start writing code.