Comments on java

This semester all projects are to be written in java. The version on the detective cluster is 1.4 and can be downloaded at:

 

      http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/download.html

The online version of the documentation is at

 

      http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4/docs/api/index.html

I highly recommend you download the java sdk and do most of your work from home, if nothing else this will lighten the load on the now overworked dc machines ;) They can be very slow around lower level project due dates ;) Of course as in most cs classes your projects will be compiled and run on the detective cluster machines (dc.umd.edu), so you should check to be sure your projects work there. However, there should not be any portability issues as long as you develop with the correct java version. We'll eventually be working with graphics, and if you work over ssh from home you will have to figure out how to set up an X-server to do this on your own machine, something I haven't figured out in the last 2 years :) (largely due to just using java locally on my own machine). I've heard good things about Borland's free jbuilder (registration required); You may wish to look into that. While you are permitted to use any java drawing facility you are comfortable with, a simple drawing package is available on the class web page. It is this package that will be most readily supported by the TA's should any problems arise. The package 'Canvas.java' provides a simple class which allows drawing of circles , squares, lines, captions, and other simple primitives in a java jframe. While this isn't being used in project one, it will show in the not to distant future.