We strongly encourage you to use an IDE to develop your project code. Although you could develop this project using only Emacs and a Java compiler and virtual machine, it is in your best interest to use an integrated development environment (IDE). An IDE allows you to write, compile, test, debug, and run your program without having to go to the command line (or a shell in Emacs). A good IDE is one that helps you find compilation errors and allows you to debug your program by stepping through it line-by-line while displaying a print out of all local variables.
Many Java IDEs are available. Try out a few, and find out that works for you. Some potential IDEs include but are not limited to:
Do a Google search to find the URLs to download these IDEs or look for them on the WAM machines (I have no idea which of these are installed on the UMD networks, other than Eclipse and Dr. Java). If you find another IDE which you like, post it to the Discussion Board to earn class participation points and allow others to share in your wisdom at the same time. Note that Eclipse is installed on the grace cluster, which is where your code will be submitted.