This course covers Java 2, aka JDK 1.2. Currently Sun makes a Java Development Kit (JDK) freely available for Windows 95, Windows NT, and Solaris. You can download it from http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.2/.
JDK 1.3
adds some Enterprise level features like naming services, but changes very few of the basics.
By contrast Java 1.1 was a major change from Java 1.0.
With one or two exceptions I'll note as we reach them
(the java.io.File class and runnable JAR archives mostly)
everything we'll discuss in this class is the same in
Java 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3.
Third parties have ported various versions of the JDK to various platforms including OS/2, the Mac, and Linux. Java 1.1 or later is not yet available on Windows 3.1.
The JDK 1.2 is installed on utopia, and accessible from the X-terminals in the Unix labs in Rogers Hall. Programs that use the AWT (GUI) will probably only run on the color X-terminals. If you don't have an account on utopia yet, get one! Most of the PCs also have the JDK 1.2.1 installed.
You do not need an IDE. IDEs cause far more problems than they solve. I strongly recommend you do not use one. Any problems caused by bugs in your IDE are your responsibility.
Netscape 4.0 and earlier and Internet Explorer 3.0 and earlier only support Java 1.0. Java 1.1 and later programs will not run inside these web browsers. If you try to run them, you will see various kinds of exceptions.
HotJava, which is installed on utopia and which is freely available from Sun, does support Java 1.1. Netscape 4.0.6 for Windows and Unix but not earlier versions supports Java 1.1. Internet Explorer 4.0 supports Java 1.1 except for RMI and JNI, neither of which is covered in this course. (Don't install Active Desktop unless you enjoy reinstalling Windows from scratch.)
You will also need web space for some of the assignments. It is freely available to any student with a utopia account. Although you won't need it until about the fifth class, it does take some time for the bureaucracy to process the paperwork. You should begin the process of filling out the forms now.