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Introduction to Java programming, Part 1: Java language basics
Object-oriented programming on the Java platform
Skill Level: Introductory J Steven Perry (steve.perry@makotoconsulting.com) Principal Consultant Makoto Consulting Group, Inc.

19 Aug 2010 This two-part tutorial introduces the structure, syntax, and programming paradigm of the Java™ language and platform. You'll learn the Javasyntax you are most likely to encounter professionally and Java programming idioms you can use to build robust, maintainable Java applications. In Part 1, J. Steven Perry guides you through the essentials of object-oriented programming on the Java platform, including fundamental Java syntax and its use. You'll get started with creating Java objects and adding behavior to them, and conclude with anintroduction to the Java Collections Framework, with considerable ground covered in between.

Section 1. Before you begin
Find out what to expect from this tutorial and how to get the most out of it.

About this tutorial
The two-part "Introduction to Java programming" tutorial is intended to get software developers who are new to Java technology up and running with object-oriented programming(OOP) and real-world application development using the Java language and platform.

Java language basics © Copyright IBM Corporation 2010. All rights reserved.

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This first part is a step-by-step introduction to OOP using the Java language. The tutorial begins with an overview of the Java platform and language and isfollowed by instructions for setting up a development environment consisting of a Java Development Kit (JDK) and the Eclipse IDE. Once you have been introduced to your development environment's components, you will begin learning basic Java syntax hands-on. Part 2 covers more-advanced language features, including regular expressions, generics, I/O, and serialization. Programming examples in Part 2build on the Person object that you begin developing in Part 1.

Objectives
When you've finished Part 1, you will be familiar with basic Java language syntax and able to write simple Java programs. You should follow up with "Introduction to Java programming, Part 2: Constructs for real-world applications" to build on this foundation.

Prerequisites
This tutorial is for software developers whoare not yet experienced with Java code or the Java platform. The tutorial includes an overview of OOP concepts.

System requirements
To complete the exercises in this tutorial, install and set up a development environment consisting of: • JDK 6 from Sun/Oracle. • Eclipse IDE for Java Developers. Download and installation instructions for both are included in the tutorial. The recommended systemconfiguration is: • A system supporting Java SE 6 with at least 1GB of main memory. Java 6 is supported on Linux®, Windows®, and Solaris®. • At least 20MB of disk space to install the software components and examples.

Java language basics © Copyright IBM Corporation 2010. All rights reserved.

Trademarks Page 2 of 65

ibm.com/developerWorks

developerWorks®

Section 2. Java platformoverview
Java technology is used to develop applications for a wide range of environments, from consumer devices to heterogeneous enterprise systems. In this section, get a high-level view of the Java platform and its components. See Resources to learn more about the Java platform components discussed in this section.

The Java language
Get to know the Java APIs
Most Java developers constantlyreference the official online Java API documentation — also called the Javadoc (see Resources). By default, you see three frames in the Javadoc. The top-left frame shows all of the packages in the API, and beneath that are the classes in each package. The main frame (to the right) shows details for the currently selected package or class. For example, if you select the java.util package in the...