Java Directions

Intro

This page is to help you get java working. There are many ways to make java programs, so if you have a compiler that works for you then feel free to use that. But for people who do not know how to compile java programs, read on.

Get the files

First you must download the files. Go to the homework page and then continue to your individual page. After your page loads, go up to the file menu and save your web page (save as source) into a new directory - let's assume it's called "homework". Then select the "source code" link at the bottom of your page to continue to your code directory. From this directory, download mas110panel.java and save it in a directory called "code" that is inside of "homework". Then also download and save mas110runner.java and yourname_ps3_p1.java through yourname_ps3_p5.java, saving all files inside of the "code" subdirectory.

Compile, debug

these java files, which depends on your platform. I'm going to explain how this works for Athena, and mention how to do this on your own machine. If you have problems doing this on your machine, I suggest you use Athena instead. If you do not have and Athena account, please let Jared know as he knows the process for obtaining one.

On an athena machine, log in and type the following:

add java

Now go into the "homework" and "code" directory from above, and type the following: javac *.java this will compile all of the java files into class files, which can be run by a web browser like Netscape. Do not worry about deprecated warnings. So now you should be able to open your html file from above (which is in the homework dirctory) and see your applets running, but your applet will be running the default test pattern.

To make your first applet run your own program, open up youname_ps3_p1.java in a text editor like vi or emacs. There should be a function called draw which looks like this:

public void draw(Graphics g, float t) {
   super.draw(g, t);
   g.setColor(Color.red.darker());
   g.drawString("" + this.getClass().getName(), 5, h/2);
}

Remove the three lines between the braces and replace it with your own code. For example:

public void draw(Graphics g, float t) {
   g.setColor(new Color(0.5f, 0.5f, 0.5f));
   g.fillRect(0,0,w,h);
}

Now, from the code directory, type:

javac yourname_ps3_p1.java This will make a new yourname_ps3_p1.class file. To see this program run, either go back into Netscape and hit [Shift]+Reload to cause the applet to reload from the disk as opposed to the cache. Or you can use appletviewer from the homework directory - just type 'appletviewer yourfile.html' to load your applet in its own window.

Windows Sidebar

This process is very similar if you are running on your own Windows based computer, but you must install the jdk from sun. Go to the download page at sun's java site, I recommend version 1.2 for Windows, download, and install the JDK. Then follow the instructions as above, using a DOS window instead of an Athena shell. You will also need a text editor, but you can use the Notepad application, which is generally found on all Windows computers.

Upload your solutions

Once you have your solutions, you are ready to upload them back to the server. Go back to the homework page, but now go down to the upload links and choose your name. This will put you into your upload area. You need to upload 10 files, yourname_ps3_p1.java through yourname_ps3_p5.java, and the corresponding class files. Make sure you upload both the java and class files.

There are two ways to upload files. One is to drag and drop the files from your operating system onto the Netscape window. This is quite handy, but may not work on all computers. So the other way is to go to the File menu and choose "Upload File...", and then select the file you want to upload to our server.

Once your files are uploaded, you should see your java programs update on your homework page right away. In class we will be using a special version of the program, not the debug viewer you are using, so that we can more easily see everyone's solution.