Developing applications can be a fun and rewarding experience, especially for those who enjoy building things by hand. However, getting started, for most, may seem overwhelming. Although in reality, it is not as difficult as one might imagine. While many websites exist that dive into the intricacies of developing applications in different programming languages, this post will explain the basics of getting your system ready to begin programming in Java.
Java is one of many programming languages, but its cross-platform abilities are one of its primary benefits, making it an attractive platform for developing applications. Moreover, learning to program in Java can be done for free as their license agreement allows one to download and use it for personal use at no cost (Oracle, n.d.).
Setting Up Your Development Environment
The first step is to download and install the current Java development kit (JDK). Follow all of the standard installation prompts. Muhammed Cetin wrote a fantastic piece, “How to Install Java on Windows 11” (Cetin, 2021), which outlines the process well.
After installing the Java development kit, the next task is downloading and installing an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) to write and compile your code. Although it is not required, a good IDE can save you hours, especially as a first-time developer. Hackr.io recently published a great list of the most popular Java IDEs in 2022 (Singh, 2022), many of which are free.
Writing Your First Application
With the Java development kit and IDE installed, you can begin writing your first Java program. Gaurav Miglani describes the process of writing a “Hello World” program in Java (GeeksforGeeks, 2022), explaining each line of code and essential points to remember, such as naming your files and compiling the program. After completing the Hello World program, you are ready to explore more aspects of the Java programming language, such as looping and conditional statements and concepts like object-oriented programming (OOP), which models your software on data or objects instead of functions. For example, a person can be referred to as an object in Java. Moreover, each person has properties such as hair color, height, age, and skin tone. A person can also perform operations such as walking or running, akin to a method in Java.
Conclusion
As your application requirements grow, learning other OOP concepts and design principles such as abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism help you to write scalable software that you, and others, can maintain. Consequently, designing software becomes easier when developing and organizing code around these concepts, especially when the program becomes large and complex.
While learning to develop Java applications may seem challenging, the process of getting started only requires three steps: downloading and installing the Java development kit, choosing and installing an IDE, and writing your first program – Hello World.
References
Cetin, M. (2021, July 20). How to install Java on Windows 11. Windows 11 Community. https://www.windows11.dev/ce7in/java-55a9
Miglani, G. (2022, May 31). Java hello world program. GeeksforGeeks. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/java-hello-world-program/
Oracle. (n.d.). What is Java technology and why do I need it? Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://www.java.com/en/download/help/whatis_java.html
Singh, V. (2022, June 7). Best Java IDE 2022 | Most popular Java IDE. Hackr.io. https://hackr.io/blog/best-java-ides
Comments
Post a Comment