IMPORTANT NOTE: Your setup at home will be different from the one we have in our labs. Any assignments that you turn in will be graded on our lab machines. This means that if you choose to work from home, it is your responsibility to make sure that your program compiles and runs correctly on the lab machines before you turn it in.
The recommended Hardware Requirements for BlueJ are: 64MB RAM and a 300Mhz Processor, but the bare minimum you could get by with are: 32MB of RAM and a 166Mhz Processor. Here are the directions:
1. First, you
need to download and install the Java
2 Platform.
(If you want
to run BlueJ on a Mac, you need to be running OS X. Java is already installed,
so go to step 3. I have not actually installed BlueJ on a Mac myself, so
you're on your own here... but the directions should be similar.)
2. After the file has been downloaded, double click it. The installer will then prompt you for an installation directory. Choose "C:\Program Files\jdk1.3.1" which is the same location that the labs in the CMC use.
3. Next, you need to download and install BlueJ, which is a (free!) graphical programming tool. Again, the installer will ask for an installation directory, choose "C:\bluej" which is the same location that the CMC labs use You will also need to type in the Java JDK directory, which you typed in during the above step ("C:\Program Files\jdk1.3.1").
4. Now, you need to create a shortcut on your desktop for bluej. So, navigate to your installation directory ("C:\bluej"). In the directory you will find a file named "bluej.bat" that you should right click on. Select "Send To" and then select "Desktop (create shortcut)." Now, go to your desktop and right click on the shortcut that you just made. Select "Properties." There should be many tabs available to you; go to the one that says "Memory." Under the heading "Conventional Memory," there should be an option that says "Initial Environment." Select the number 4096. Next, go to the "Program" tab. There should be a field marked "Run," make sure it is set to "minimized." Now click on the "Change Icon" button. Now select "Browse" and navigate to "C:\bluej\lib" and select bluej.ico. Click OK on the icon selection windows, and the window with all the tabs. Finally, rename your desktop shortcut to "bluej" (no quotes).
Documentation can be found here (BlueJ) and here (Java).
5. The last step is installing the javabook library. First, obtain the javabook library from the textbook website. Unzip the file that you download into the folder "C:\bluej\javabook". Then, start up BlueJ. Click "Tools", then "Preferences", then click on the "Libraries" tab. Click on the "Add" button, then type "C:\bluej" in the "File name" box. Click the "Open" button, then click OK. Shut down BlueJ, and start it up again. Go to the libraries tab again to make sure your change stuck (occasionally it doesn't stick, and you have to do it again.) Javabook should now work.
NOTE: In the
labs, we use jikes compiler by IBM instead of the javac compiler by Sun
since it is faster. I have not included directions below on how to configure
BlueJ to work with jikes, though you're welcome to figure this out by surfing
the BlueJ website if you wish.