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Thinking and developing in Java with Eclipse
From this point you will follow instructions to create your own development world and grow your personal professional level. Following instructions is not easy. People tend to skip reading and jump to execution based on illustrations. Do not rush!
Computers are still stupid and small things will cause big problems. If there is a difference between illustrations and instructions - follow instructions.
IT professionals use many software packages, libraries and tools. It is not a rare occasion to download, quickly learn, and start using a new tool.
We will start with Java Development Kit (JDK) and Eclipse, an Interactive Development Environment (IDE) that allows us to type a program source, provides red alerts on misspellings and syntax errors, compiles and even helps to debug and improve a working program.
So far the most of corporate environments are based on MS Windows.
I highly recommend to follow the instructions below and figure out how to install properly while using standard industry places and interfaces.
For the case when it is too much troubles there are two cheat links for you:
https://javaschool.com/downloads/zip/jdk.zip - JDK 8
(JDK 8 as an example, it is recommended to download one of the latest, but not the latest JDK version)
https://javaschool.com/downloads/zip/eclipse.zip - Eclipse IDE for Enterprise Java Developers
Although Java works in all environments, some setting options are different.
For those using MAC computers, please take a look at this link with wonderful screen shots:
Before downloading JDK, go to the internal (child) chapter to Explore PC folders.
Play with the windows tools as described there and then come back to continue working with Java tools.
If you are working with the Windows system read further. For Linux and Mac users - skip this block and look a bit below.
Create the folder c:\downloads. You will use this folder to save important files you download. In the c:\downloads create two more folders: c:\downloads\java (to store java related files, such as compressed jdk.zip, Eclipse.zip, Tomcat, etc.) and c:\downloads\db (to store database related compressed files). You might need this archived zip files in the future, for example, if for some reason you need to re-install the same tool.
Now, you will need to read instructions from this site using this open browser window and switch to another window for download and other operations. You might know how to switch from one program to another, but if you do this the first time, here is the hint. At the bottom of the screen Windows usually keeps icons of all open applications. Click on one icon and this application is visible (in-focus), click on another icon and another application is in focus.
The general rule is to keep open only minimum number of applications. Following this rule will increase PC performance.
Download the latest JDK SE (Standard Edition) from the following link:
You will need to create an Oracle account and login, then to enter this link again.
In the process you will perform the following six steps illustrated below.
1) Select JDK Download
2) Oracle will ask you to ACCEPT their agreement and then
3) You can select a proper link for your personal environment. If your run PC with 64-bit Windows, select the last link.
4) JDK comes as a compressed EXE file. Double-click on the file and ALLOW installation.
5) ! Change the default directory to C:\jdk Here we can see how precise you are on performing instructions :-)
6) Press OK button to complete the installation
Let us make sure that the system knows about JDK location. In other words, let us set the environment.
This is done by typing "Control Panel" in the windows search box, and then following the instructions below.
1. Open System and Security and then 2) System properties and 3) Click on Advanced System Settings 4) Go to Environment Variables and
5.1) add NEW variable name: JAVA_HOME with the value c:\jdk 5.2) add NEW variable name: JRE_HOME with the value c:\jdk\jre 6) Find the PATH variable and EDIT by entering at the end semi-colon (if it is not there) and c:\jdk\bin;
Was it clear so far?
Now, it is perfect time to download and install Eclipse.
Java world is filled with choices. Eclipse is the most popular IDE, but there are plenty others: IDEA, NetBeans, JDeveloper and more.
Download the latest Eclipse IDE for Java EE. At the time you read these lines there might be later versions of Eclipse with slightly different interface options.
Eclipse and projects are kept separately in different directories and any later version will pick up your projects as soon as you tell the new version where is your workspace.
Eclipse EE will serve us from the smallest one-program projects to much bigger web, mobile and real-time analytics applications.
Eclipse EE will land on your machine as a compressed ZIP file. Please un-compress this file directly on C:\ drive (if you use the Windows system), so it will produce C:\eclipse directory.
Take a look how this directory looks on your machine. So far, most of my students worked with PCs and Windows, so the examples will reflect this environment.
Open your COMPUTER and the find C:\ drive and find the eclipse directory on the drive.
The directory should look like the illustration below. Find the file eclipse.exe and with right mouse click select Create Shortcut option. You have a convenient icon to start Eclipse.
What if you mess up with the PATH variable and need to restore a default PATH on Mac? Type in the shell window:
PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin
export PATH
# add custom, local installations to PATH
PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:"$PATH"
# add MacPorts to PATH
PATH=/opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin:"$PATH"
Optimize Eclipse Performance and Decrease Project Building Time There are several reasons that project building takes a long time.
1. Do you really need all VALIDATIONS during the build process?
Navigate to WINDOW - PREFERENCES - VALIDATION in the left panel and uncheck unnecessary validations in the BUILD column.
2. Reduce number of PLUG-INS activated at STARTUP.
Navigate to WINDOW - PREFERENCES and type STARTUP at the top; navigate to the STARTUP and SHUTDOWN item.
Uncheck on the right unnecessary plug-ins activated on startup.
3. By default Eclipse has BUILD AUTOMATICALLY option checked that also decrease the speed.
Navigate to PROJECT - BUILD AUTOMATICALLY and uncheck it.
4. Do you need to track history of changes made by you in eclipse?
You might reduce some building time by deleting the .history folder inside .metadata/ - .plugins/org.eclipse.core.resources/ - (find .metadata in the directory of your workspace.)
5. I always increase memory used by Eclipse by editing the c:/eclipse/eclipse.ini - file.
-vmargs -Xms512m -Xmx4096m
At this point you can continue working...
