JCreator Tonga Institute of Higher Education

Programming with the command line and notepad is difficult. DOS disadvantages  User Interface (UI) is not graphical  Must remember command words  Must type long commands exactly right or you will get an error. Notepad disadvantages  Code is difficult to read  Undo functionality is limited  Projects with multiple files result in multiple Notepad applications running. This can get confusing and can lead to errors.

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) IDEs are programs designed to make programming easier.  Graphical Interface is intuitive  Program management is easier  Source code readability is improved  Too many features to list! You do not need an IDE to create a program. But they are very helpful. There are many different IDE’s.  IBM WebSphere Studio  NetBeans  Borland JBuilder  Oracle9i Jdeveloper  JCreator  Etc.

Workspace and Projects Workspace – An organizer for your projects. Project – An organizer for your programs. There are different project types:  Empty Project Console Application  Basic Java Application Uses a graphical user interface  Basic Java Foundation Classes (JFC) Application. Uses a graphical user interface with Java Foundation Classes  Basic Java Applet – runs inside of a web page A project can include many files.

Demonstration Effectively Using Workspaces, Projects and Files

Creating a program with JCreator 1. Create a New Project  File -> New -> Project  Select your project template and click Next  Input your project name and click Finish 2. Add your class  In the Package View window, right click on your project name  Click New Class  Input the name of your class and click Finish  Add your code to your class 3. Compile your project  Build -> Compile Project  Shortcut: F7 4. Execute your project  Build -> Execute Project or  Shortcut: F5

Demonstration Creating a program with JCreator

A Quick Tour of JCreator Useful Windows  File View Shows information about the files in your project  Package View Shows information from the Java files which are part of the project Allows you to create new classes, methods and variables  Data View Shows information about of the active Java document Allows you to add new methods and variables  Build Output Shows results of your last build attempt  Task List Shows Build Errors Todos  Must compile file to see todos Right click on column headings -> Show Tasks -> All Useful Features  Double clicking on a class, method, variable, todo, build error, etc. will take you to the source.  You can modify the default directory of your project files Configure -> Options -> Directories -> Default Project Directory

Demonstration JCreator Features