Java Classroom Setup Directions

(Last updated: April 17, 2013)

This document describes the steps to install and configure various Java software used in COP-2805. Please note that many of the install locations and settings are my personal preferences, and that installing to different locations and using different environment variable settings is certainly acceptable; whatever works best for you. Note the setup describe here conforms to Oracle (formerly Sun) recommendations for JDK and JRE setup.

For all tools, when there is a choice I suggest using the 32-bit versions, even on a 64-bit computer. Web browsers are mostly 32-bit today, and won't work with 64-bit JREs. For learning purposes, the convenience of having everything “just work” is more important than the performance and security enhancements of 64-bit software. (That will hopefully not be the case in a few years, and then you should use the 64-bit versions.)

In our course we will explore many tools, including both Eclipse and NetBeans IDEs. The IDEs often include bundled versions of some tools, such as Ant, JUnit, and Maven. While you could locate where these were previously installed, with NetBeans (or Eclipse) and set up PATH and other environment variables to refer to those locations, these tools are small and it doesn't hurt to install the extra versions that come with the tools. By installing the tools separately (and before any IDEs, you can access them easily from the command line and update them when updates are available, without waiting for an update from NetBeans (or Eclipse), which may cause you to have to reconfigure other tools to know about the new locations and pathnames.

One of my personal preferences is to install tools into directories without version numbers. Then if I update some tool and put the new version into the same location, I don't have to update any environment variables or reconfigure any IDE to know about the new locations.

The order you download and install tools may not matter much, but I like to install and configure the environment variables for some tools before installing IDEs or the Glassfish Java EE server. (There is a chance those installers will locate the tools and configure themselves to use those locations, rather than install a separate version.)

Note that these directions are tested on Windows 7. If you wish any additional help, don't hesitate to ask!

Installation steps

Create the folders C:\Java (which is where we will install the JDK), C:\Java\MyJars (which is where we can put any needed jar files that aren't already listed on the standard CLASSPATH), and C:\Java\glassfish3 (which is where we will install the Glassfish Java EE server).
Run the command:
```
  C:\Temp>set >env.txt
```
This make a backup copy of all your environment variables, always a good idea before making changes that can prevent your system from working correctly. Print it out, just in case.
An easier way to manage, view, save, and edit your environment variables, is to first install and use the tool Rapid Environment Editor. Using that or the standard Windows environment variable editor, create or edit the following environment variables and set them to where you will install the software (change the values if you plan on installing in different locations):
- ANT_HOME=C:\Java\ant
- DERBY_HOME=C:\Java\db
- JUNIT_HOME=C:\Java\junit
- JAVA_HOME=C:\Java
- MAVEN_HOME=C:\Java\maven
- GLASSFISH_HOME=C:\Java\glassfish3
- CLASSPATH=.;C:\Java\MyJars\*;C:\Java\db\lib\*
- HOME=C:\Users\wpollock
It is okay if your CLASSPATH setting has an additional entry at the end. (The Apple QuickTime installer adds one, but it isn't needed unless you want to use QuickTime from your Java applications. Even in that case, you don't need that entry on CLASSPATH. Just put the QTJava.zip file in the C:\Java\MyJars\ folder, and change the QTJAVA environment variable to refer to the zip file at its new location.) Make sure you don't forget to include the leading period!

Add these entries to the PATH environment variable:
```
  C:\Java\bin
  C:\Java\ant\bin
  C:\Java\maven\bin
  C:\Java\db\bin
  C:\Java\glassfish3\bin
```
(Using environment variables in PATH, such as “%JAVA_HOME%\bin” instead of “C:\Java\bin”, just won't work in most cases.) The order these are listed in PATH shouldn't matter.

Note that the public JRE that is installed, isn't listed on the PATH. The reason is, the tools in the JAVA_HOME\bin folder are identical to the ones in the JRE's bin folder. You don't need to list both locations unless you plan on installing multiple JREs. That might happen if you need to test your code against multiple JREs, or if you leave the Java automatic updater turned on. In that case, the public JRE you plan on using (C:\Program Files...\Java\jre7\bin) must precede the JDK's private JRE (C:\Java\bin) on PATH, or the public JRE won't be used.

You can also just not install the public JRE when running the installer, but I don't recommand that. Windows contains a registry setting used by some apps (some IDEs, web browsers, etc.) to find a JRE to use. If you don't install the public JRE, that setting is unchanged and may point to an older version of Java, or a version that you've already deleted. (This is why it sometimes requires a reboot when updating Java, before the new version is used by all applications.)

Make sure PATH doesn't already refer to any older JRE or JDK that might have been previously installed. Note, some vendors pre-install a JRE in C:\windows (or some other location already listed on PATH). If you think that is the case (that is, when you check the version used from the command line and it shows an old version), you must list C:\Java\bin first on PATH.

Remember that both PATH and CLASSPATH are a list of folders (or, for CLASSPATH, folders, jar files, and zip files). Each one is separated from the next with a semicolon (“;”):
```
   FOO;BAR   — Good!
   FOO; BAR  — No good!
   FOO:BAR   — No good!
```
If updating your JDK or JRE, they will go in the same locations as the previous version if you follow these guidelines. However, the installer may not uninstall the previous version, leading to corruption if you later try to uninstall the older version. (The most recent JDK install does offer to uninstall the previous version.) So before installing anything else, uninstall any old JDK and JRE. (The installer seems to handle multiple JREs better. If you use the defaults for the JDK, a new directory is used for every version, so you don't need to uninstall first. But then you will need to update your environment variables after each update.)
Download and install the development tools in this order:
1. JDK 7, 32-bit Windows version, for Java SE, the latest version. (URL: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/) You should install the 32-bit version even if you have Windows x64. The 64-bit version may not work well with some web browsers, Eclipse, or other Java-related tools.
  This installer includes several sub-installers. The first one is for the JDK. Change the install location to “C:\Java”, and later you can let the JRE install in its default location). Install everything, including samples and demos, and the source code if desired.
  
  When you use Java's automatic updater for Windows, third-party software is included. The two additional packages delivered to users are currently the Ask Toolbar and the McAfee Security Scanner. With Java updates (and sometimes, an install), you must specifically opt out of the additional software installations. You may not want to use Ask.com, but apparently it's installer delays its actions for 10 minutes or so, so that if you accidentally install it, you won't see the uninstall option show up in the control panel right away.
2. Apache Derby DB latest official release (extracted to C:\Java, and rename the folder created to just "derby"). URL: https://db.apache.org/derby/derby_downloads.html Note, the JDK includes this, and will install it in %JAVA_HOME%\db. You only need to do this step if you want the latest version of derby. If not, make sure you sent the DERBY_HOME environment varable appropriately. (Note, there is a pair of Eclipse plug-ins available from here, if you want them. Download those, and extract the zip files into the C:\Program Files (x86)\eclipse\plugins\ folder, after installing Eclipse.)
3. Apache Ant, the “zip” archive of latest version. (URL: https://ant.apache.org/bindownload.cgi.) The archive contains one folder, “apache-ant-version”. Extract it to C:\Java, and rename the new folder to just “ant” (that matches the environment variable settings created earlier).
4. Apache Maven, the binary “zip” archive of latest version. (URL: https://maven.apache.org/download.html.) The archive contains one folder, “apache-maven-version”. Extract it to C:\Java, and rename the new folder to just “maven” (that matches the environment variable settings created earlier).
5. JUnit, the latest version. (URL: https://github.com/junit-team/junit/wiki/Download-and-Install.) This site has recently (3/2013) changed, and the new procedure is rather complicated. From the download page, click the link for “junit.jar”. You need to download the “jar” and the “javadoc.jar” for the latest version (currently, that is 4.11). In my browser, that required a right-click and opening the link in a new tab. Next, rename “javadoc.jar” to “javadoc.zip”. Now you can extract the contents to a new folder; I used “C:\Java\JUnit-API”. You can then set a bookmark (or favorite, depending on your browser of choice) to the index.html file in there, for quick reference. The downloaded “junit-version.jar” jar file should be put into C:\Java\MyJars.
  You can repeat these steps for the “hamcrest-core.jar” file. (Hamcrest is an extension to JUnit.)
  
  Finally, you can bookmark the JUnit documentation, from https://github.com/junit-team/junit/wiki and http://junit.sourceforge.net/doc (The JUnit Cookbook, and the combined JUnit and Hamcrest Java Docs (API). Note the API documentation found here may not be as current as the versions you downloaded.)
6. Note! You can skip this step, and let NetBeans install Glassfish for you, as shown below. Otherwise, install Glassfish as follows:
  Glassfish Java EE server, the latest open source, multilingual, full platform version. (URL: http://glassfish.java.net/public/downloadsindex.html.) Install it in C:\Java\glassfish3; the default is C:\glassfish3. (Note, there is a commercial version from Oracle as well as the open source version. I installed the free, open source version.)
  
  Run the installer, and choose “typical install”. Select the location to install to (“C:\Java\glassfish3”). Make sure you choose to install the “update tool” on the next screen. Then, click the Install button to proceed. When done, a single domain will be created. (You don't need more than one.) This uses the user name “admin”, with no password by default. You can add a password for better security (and not “admin” or something equally easy to guess). At HCC, no password was set.
7. (Optional) Any hex editor, such as the free Neo from HHD Software, the latest version. (URL: http://www.hhdsoftware.com/free-hex-editor.) Run the installer, using the defaults for everything.
8. In order to use the Derby database, these four files from the %DERBY_HOME%\lib folder must be listed on the CLASSPATH:
```
   derby.jar  derbyclient.jar  derbynet.jar  derbytools.jar
```
  While only two files are actually needed, the ones used would depend on the mode of your database (server or embedded). Adding all four ensures you can use the Derby database in any mode.
9. All the required software should now be installed, except for Eclipse and NetBeans. (The installation of those tools is discussed next, as is the setup of the Glassfish server.) Test all installed software, by opening a fresh command line window, and running these commands:
```
   java -version
   javac -version
   ant -version
   mvn -version
   ij NUL
   sysinfo
   java org.junit.runner.JUnitCore

(Run the following only if you installed Glassfish already:)
   
   updatetool --version
   echo exit |asadmin
```
  You should not see any error messages. The JUnit test should show 3-5 lines, starting with the version, and ending with “OK (0 tests)” (or some other number, depending on the version). The updatetool command will pop-up a GUI window showing a version. The asadmin command line should show something similar to “Use "exit" to exit and "help" for online help. Command multimode executed successfully.”
  
  You may get a message from your firewall software when running some of these tools and servers. Microsoft firewall blocks out-going connections, not incoming ones. So you may need to enable Glassfish (and JRE) network connections.
  
  If you do get any errors, run the command “set” and check the values of the environment variables very carefully! On older versions of Windows, you may have to reboot after changing any environment variables, and not just open a fresh command line window, to have the changes take effect.
10. Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers, latest Windows 32-bit version. (URL: http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/.) The archive contains one folder, “eclipse”. Extract it to “C:\Program Files (x86)”. (On older, 32-bit computers, you don't have that folder. Instead, extract the archive to “C:\Program Files”.) For convenience, you can make a short-cut to the eclipse.exe file within the newly installed folder, and put it on your desktop, quick-launch bar, or the Start menu.
  (Note, Eclipse may install a duplicate version of some utilities such as Ant and Glassfish. If you don't install the extra versions, the default project settings will be incorrect. to use ant, JUnit, etc., you must manually edit all the project defaults to use the utilities you installed separately. For me, it was easier to waste the disk space and just install the extra tools.)
  
  Tip: Eclipse can be installed on a Flash drive instead. That way, you can carry around your development environment where ever you go. (Make sure to also put your Eclipse “workspace” on the same Flash drive; see below for details on that.)
  
  Run Eclipse to make sure it works. Make sure it can find your JDK (it will if you set the environment variables correctly). When you first launch Eclipse, it will ask where to create a workspace, which is a folder that holds all your Eclipse Java projects. I usually put that in my Java programs folder (see step 1 above), or in “My Documents”, and name the new folder “eclipse-workspace”. I then check the box to use that as the default and never ask me again.
  
  Sometimes, Eclipse won't install completely and the “update” function won't work, because it doesn't have the correct URLs in the “Available sites” list. If that happens to you (it did to me!), manually add the standard URLs as shown in this screen-shot:
  
  Under the “Help” menu, run the “check for updates”. You can also explore what add-ons (plugins) are available by clicking on the “Help→Install new Software...”, and install a few if you wish. First, select “--All Available Sites--” from the drop-down list at the top. Then check the boxes at the bottom to show only the latest versions, to contact all update sites during install, and to hide items already installed. In particular, you should make sure both the CVS and Git clients are installed, from the “Collaboration” list:
  
  In Eclipse, you want the EGit add-on; the JGit add-on is a library that you can use in your Java programs to have them work with Git repositories. JGit is actually used by EGit internally, and it will probably be installed as a dependency (depends on which version you use).
  
  Try creating and running a “Hello, World” application.
11. NetBeans, the latest version for the Java EE bundle. (URL: http://netbeans.org/downloads/.) Unlike Eclipse, NetBeans has an installer. Install NetBeans. The screen-shots that follow show the installation main steps, including the installation of Glassfish and an extra copy of JUnit. (Don't re-install Glassfish if you did that already, or at least not to the same location.)
  
  When done, launch NetBeans and run the menu item “Help→Check for Updates”. After installing updates (and restarting NetBeans), you may need to update or install additional plugins. To update or install plugins, use the “tools→Plugins” menu. Make sure you install at least CVS and Git.
  
  NetBeans installs git and some other versioning systems by default, so they don't show as plugins. Currently, it doesn't install CVS by default, so you will need that plugin.
  
  Try creating and running a “Hello, World” application.
12. Before running Glassfish for the first time, run the GUI tool “updatetool.exe” tool (launch from the command line), and install all available updates. You can also install additional add-ons if you wish.
  Now test out Glassfish, by starting the default domain:
```
   asadmin start-domain
```
  This shouldn't show any error messages, except if Glassfish is already running when you use “start-domain”; that would be fine.
  
  Finally, open a web browser to the URL “http://localhost:8080/”. Explore the server a bit. Notice you can run the updatetool from there. Click the link to go to the “Admin Console”, and explore that. See if you can figure out how to download and install sample applications from there.
  
  When done, you can shut down the Glassfish server with:
```
   asadmin stop-domain
```

Post-install Steps

To make development and testing more convenient, you can do some or all of these additional steps:

Make a folder to hold your Java programs and projects. At HCC, we use “C:\Temp”. At home, I use “C:\%HOMEPATH%\Java”. (On Windows 7, that becomes “C:\Users\wpollock\Java”.)
Make a copy of the “command prompt” (cmd.exe) short-cut, renamed to something like “Java CLI”. Edit the properties of the new short-cut, to start in your Java folder (see the previous step). You can also change the font and layout (number of rows and columns). This short-cut can be placed on the desktop, in the Start menu, or “pinned” to the taskbar. (I put it in both the Start menu and taskbar.)
Open the folder where you installed Eclipse, and right-click on eclipse.exe, and choose copy. Then, you can “paste shortcut” in your Start menu, desktop, or the taskbar. (NetBeans installs a desktop short-cut and a Start menu item, but you can still pin that to the taskbar if you wish.)
You can add items to your right-click→Send To menu. I like to put a short-cut to Notepad (or your favorite text editor) there. You can find the folder holding the items for this menu at “%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo”. (Notepad.exe is usually found in C:\Windows. Right click it, copy, then open the “SendTo” folder, and paste as a short-cut.)
A better editor in my opinion is the free “Notepad++”. (URL: http://notepad-plus-plus.org/download/.)
If you turn off Word-wrap in Notepad, you can enable the status bar, which shows the current line and column. That is handy when you get an error message about line 234 (or whatever), and you can see what line that is. (Also, control+G allows you to jump to any line.)
Glassfish can be set to run as a Windows service, so it is always running. Otherwise, you will need to start it running every time with “asadmin start-domain”. If you don't want to be running this always, you can make it more convenient to start and stop using a short-cut. You can make a pair of BAT files, one to start and one to stop glassfish. A good place for them might be “%GLASSFISH_HOME%\bin”, but if you do place them there and later update or reinstall Glassfish, they may be gone! Personally, I created a new folder called “C:\program Files (x86)\Utils”, and listed folder that on PATH. Then I put any BAT files or other DOS software I download in there. You can also add a short-cut to them from the Start menu, desktop, or taskbar.
In your favorite web browser, you will want to make a bunch of favorites/ bookmarks, to various Java related documents and your Glassfish server. The ones I find most useful are:
```
  Java 7 API (http://download.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/)
  Java 7 SE docs (http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/)
  Junit API (http://kentbeck.github.com/junit/javadoc/latest/)
  Glassfish HTTP application server (http://localhost:8080/)
  Glassfish HTTPS application server (https://localhost:8181/)
  Glassfish Administration console (http://localhost:4848/)
```
Others bookmarks can be useful too, such as the one for the JUnit Cookbook, and documentation links for Ant, Maven, Derby, and Glassfish. This documentation often includes tutorials and quick-start guides, FAQs, and reference material. Find and bookmark any you find useful. (You can also download zip archives of the Java API docs for Java SE, JNLP (WebStart), JUnit, etc. Then you can bookmark the local copies. This can be useful when you have intermittent network access.)
Open the Java control panel, and adjust any settings you don't like. You can change some of the settings under the “Advanced” tab, such as if the Java icon should show in the system tray when a JRE is running, or when to check for updates to the public JRE. From the “Security” tab, you can control if Java is enabled in the web browsers. (You want that, despite the security risk, if you are using BlackBoard.com for your coursework.)
Make a short-cut in the Start menu for the WebStart downloaded applications: Locate ...\jre...\bin\javaws.exe, and add a short-cut from it to the Start menu. (You can name the short-cut “Java WebStart”.) Modify the short-cut properties by adding “ -viewer” to the end of the command line (“Target”). That command launches the Java control panel's application (WebStart) cache.