Java Installation

[natt walters]

hi

I would like start learning java.
I just installed JDK 6u24 from sun.com.
When I try to compile Helloworld it says javac is not recognized.
Can anybody please help me how to define the class path and the essentials to compile and run java programs.

thankyou

[Stephan van Hulst]

You need to set your PATH environment variable.

It's the same process as described here: https://coderanch.com/how-to/java/HowToSetTheClasspath

The difference is that the variable you need to set is PATH, not CLASSPATH; and it needs to point to the directory containing javac.exe
(on my system this is C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_20\bin)

[marc weber]

natt walters wrote:...Can anybody please help me how to define the class path...

As Stephan said, it's the PATH that you need to update. Please do NOT set a CLASSPATH.

[Vishal Lad]

Have a look over here, it has screenshots for easier understanding.

http://www.mycoding.net/2011/02/218/

[Campbell Ritchie]

We have an FAQ about that.

[Sunny Bhandari]

Hi natt,

welcome to javaranch

[natt walters]

Thank you very much everyone .
I've done as instructed and started compiling and running a few programs.

I've also heard of the IDE(Eclipse) a great tool for programming.

Can you please advise me being a beginner is it good to start with the tool or stick to doing the normal way for now.

Thank you once again

[Jesper de Jong]

Eclipse is a very good IDE, but if you're just starting to learn Java, it's better to start with a simple text editing program. Learn the basics of the Java programming language first. It will be overwhelming if you are trying to learn too many things at once - how the IDE works and how Java works.

A nice and simple text editor that has color syntax highlighting for Java is Notepad++.

[natt walters]

Thank you very much