[ILUG] java compiler

[Matthew French]

Eric Nichols asked:
> I just started studying computer science this school
> year. We're learning Java and we're using a program
> called Kawa IDE to compile and run our programs.
> I tried to download a version of it for Linux, but it
> seems to be a Windows-only program. Does anyone
> know of a program I could use to write, compile and
> run Java using Linux?

Kawa is a great IDE for Java, but as you say, it only works on Windows.

Personally I like to use the Java plugin/module/library for Emacs.

I would recommend this because:
a) it is a great way to learn Emacs
b) it does most of the basic things you need without adding in extra
complexity
c) it can be scripted: I have F7 bound to compile and F5 bound to execute.

Note that I spend most of my time writing server side scripts, so I do not
need the GUI stuff. I try and avoid NetBeans/JBuilder/Forte and other GUI
IDE's because they give me no benefit and tend to behave unpredictably just
when I really need to compile something.

Another IDE worth mentioning, but not really applicable for your needs, is
TogetherSoft ControlCenter. It is big and slow, but it really is a
completely different way of looking at programming. It is supported on
Linux. But it cost around EUR6,000 the last time I looked. A bit much for
the average student budget... :)

- Matthew


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Everything you'll ever need on one web page
from News and Sport to Email and Music Charts
http://uk.my.yahoo.com