Installing Java and Jedit

  1. You will need to first get a Java Development Kit ( JDK ) from Sun Micro-systems. Go here. You want to select the option for "JDK 6 Update 3" and accept the license agreement on the next page. Windows Users: Selecting Offline installation will download an executable file that you will have to click on. Selecting on line installation will download the installation materials from the web. I didn't see a difference. Maybe you will? Linux Users: I prefer to download the self extracting file. My instructions will assume that. Mac Users: For the JDK, you will need to install Xcode. You can find more details here .
  2. You will now need to install the JDK. Windows Users: double click on the JDK you downloaded and it will auto-install. Go with the defaults. Linux users: Do all the following as root.
    1. Copy the binary to /usr/local (ie: cp /home/YOURUSER/jdk-6u2-linux-i586.bin /usr/local).
    2. Then make the file executable ( chmod 700 /usr/local/jdk-6u2-linux-i586.bin).
    3. Execute the file (/usr/local/jdk-6u2-linux-i586.bin ) and accept the license.
    4. Add the new directory to your path. Edit your .bashrc file ( or .tcshrc ) and add PATH=/usr/local/jdk1.6.0_03/bin:$PATH to the last line. ( type emacs .bashrc & at the command prompt, and then add the path line somewhere in the file. )
    5. phew

Windows Users Only - More JDK installation

Windows users will now need to add the new jdk path to their PATH variable to use it. The PATH variable under windows is a list of directories where valid commands lie. We need to edit this variable to allow the use of the Java JDK.

  1. First, find out the path to the java executables. Ssearch your computer for a directory that contains java.exe and javac.exe ( typically, this will be under C:\Program Files\Java\bin or something like that ). Remember this value.
  2. You then need to edit your PATH variable. To do that, use the following instructions. NEW INSTRUCTIONS!!!

JEdit

Now, you need to get the Jedit Editor. You can find it here along with some install instructions and user's guide. You will want the stable version. Windows users: I recommend getting the installer that is set up specifically for your operating system. Linux users: use emacs instead of Jedit. Mac users: use emacs or Jedit. You can download Jedit from the same place everyone else gets theirs.

Basic Compilation

You are now ready to learn how to compile .