Download Using the Eclipse IDE for Java Application

Using the Eclipse IDE for Java Application Development
As a Java application developer, you would need to use an IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
that provides, among other things, an editor, a Java compilation platform, a debugger, and many more.
There are many IDEs available for use by Java application developers. I personally like jGRASP which is a
lightweight development environment that was developed at Auburn University. But a vast majority of
Java application developers in the industry make use of the Eclipse IDE. I strongly recommend that you
learn how to use the Eclipse IDE very well.
Downloading & Installing Eclipse
Since you would like to use Eclipse with Java application development, you must begin by downloading
and
installing
Java.
You
can
download
the
latest
version
of
Java
from
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html. Install the JDK (Java
Development Kit) and the JRE (Java Runtime Environment).
You can download and install the latest version of Eclipse for Java application development from
http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/eclipse-ide-java-developers/junosr2 . There are many
things available for download from that site. Do not get distracted. Simply download and install Eclipse
for Java application development.
The Eclipse IDE is rather heavy and would probably require at least 2 Gb of RAM on your computer. I
have seen it work on computers with 1 Gb RAM, but be prepared for a slower response.
Learning to use the Eclipse IDE for Java Application Development
There are many tutorials that helps you learn how to use the Eclipse IDE for Java application
development. In fact, the number of such tutorials available are far too large and can confuse a
beginner.
I recommend that you first download a PDF file entitled “Eclipse and Java for Total Beginners Companion Tutorial Document” by Mark Dexter. You can download this companion document at
http://eclipsetutorial.sourceforge.net/Total_Beginner_Companion_Document.pdf. This is actually a
companion
document
to
accompany
the
actual
video
tutorial
at
http://eclipsetutorial.sourceforge.net/totalbeginner.html.
My recommendation is that you learn as much from the tutorial as is necessary to be able to edit your
first couple of Java programs, compile them and execute them comfortably.
You can always get back to the tutorial to learn some advanced stuff later on. Remember that the
Eclipse IDE comes with a whole lot of features (“bells & whistles”). You just need a few features to get
going.
You can also read the following PDF documents on how to use the Eclipse IDE for Java programming.
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1. Using Eclipse for Java Programming from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mrmiller/15110/introToEclipse-Mac.pdf
2. Java Application Development using Eclipse from http://www.jsrsys.com/share/105/s8358.pdf
There are also a large number of other video tutorials available on learning to use the Eclipse IDE for
Java programming.
1. Best Eclipse and Java Video Tutorials Collection in Damith Wanninayake’s Blog at
http://uwudamith.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/best-eclipse-and-java-video-tutorialscollection/.
2. A first Java program in Eclipse at
http://showmedo.com/videotutorials/video?name=IntroductionToEclipseWithJava1_JohnM
What is Really Important?
There are so many resources on how to use the Eclipse IDE that you could end up wasting lots of time on
unproductive things.


You should know only as little about the Eclipse IDE to be able to edit Java programs, compile
them, execute them and possible debug them. So learn only as much as really required to be
able to use the IDE easily. You can always learn the intricate features later.
The focus is really on Object Oriented Problem Solving using Java. So let not the learning how to
use Eclipse IDE distract you too much from your main focus.
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