Installing and Configuring the CS159 Development Tools

You are responsible for getting the development tools we will be using this semester installed on your computer(s). You should install and configure it right away, since you will need to use it soon after the semester begins.

1 Something to Keep in Mind

It is a bad idea to use spaces in file names and/or directory names since whitespace is often used as a delimiter. This includes directories with names like My Documents and

John
  Smith

2 Before Starting

Before you start to install CS159 development tools you should use a command-shell, "file explorer", or "finder" to do the following:

Create a directory/folder for this course. As mentioned above, do not include spaces anywhere in the path. (For example, on my Linux machine, it is something like /home/bernstdh/cs159.)
Create a downloads directory/folder for this course inside of the directory you created for this course. (For example, on my Linux machine, it is something like /home/bernstdh/cs159/downloads.) This directory/folder will be used to hold all of the files you download for this course.
Create an eclipse directory/folder inside of the directory you created for this course. (For example, on my Linux machine, it is something like /home/bernstdh/cs159/eclipse.) This directory/folder will be used to hold your Eclipse Workspace and all of the code you write for this course.

Note that, by default, your browser will not use the course-specific download directory/folder that you just created. You will either need to change the default download location or move the files after they are downloaded.

3 Installing the Basic Components

The first step in the process is to install the basic components.

Install the Java Development Kit Standard Edition v17.
You may use either the Oracle JDK (available from Oracle.com) or the OpenJDK (available from Adoptium.net or java.net).
You may install a more recent version but your code must not use features beyond those in v17 and you must cross-compile your code so that the .class files are consistent with v17. (See the CS Wiki for help.)
Install Eclipse v2023-06
You may either install it for the first time or, if you have an earlier version installed, upgrade your existing installation.
Select an Eclipse Workspace.
Start Eclipse. Then, when asked to select a workspace, browse to the eclipse directory/folder you created for this course (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs159/eclipse). For help, see the Departmental Wiki on Eclipse workspaces.
Ensure that the Checkstyle Plugin was Installed.
Click on Help+About Eclipse IDE+Installation Details, select the "Installed Software" tab, and search the list for something like "Eclipse Checkstyle Plugin". If it hasn't been installed, install the Eclipse Checkstyle plugin.

4 Configuring the Basic Components

After the basic components are installed, you should configure them.

Download (using a right-click in most browsers) the course formatter for Eclipse and save it in your course downloads directory/folder (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs159/downloads).
Download (using a right-click in most browsers) the course Checkstyle configuration/checks file and save it in your course downloads directory/folder (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs159/downloads).
Start Eclipse (if it is not already running). When prompted, browse to the workspace you created for this courses (e.g., /home/bernstdh/cs159/eclipse).
Follow the instructions on the Department Wiki to configure the Eclipse workspace to use the course formatter. (You will use the same formatter for every assignment. If you configure the workspace to use the formatter, you will not have to configure each project individually.)
Follow the instructions on the Department wiki to configure the Eclipse workspace to use the course Checkstyle configuration/checks file. (You will use the same style guide for every assignment. If you configure the workspace to use the checks file, you will not have to configure each project individually.)

Note that the course formatter does not satisfy all of the specifications in the course style guide. You may be able to modify the formatter to make it more compliant but some of the specifications must be dealt with manually.

5 Installing the Unit Testing Components

You will need to use two Eclipse plug-ins when unit testing. They should have been installed when you installed Eclipse, however they may not have been. So:

Click on Help+About Eclipse IDE+Installation Details, select the "Installed Software" tab, and search the list for something like "EclEmma Java Code Coverage". If it hasn't been installed, follow the instructions on the Department wiki to install EclEmma.
Check to see if the JUnit plug-in for Eclipse was installed by looking under File-New for JUnit Test Case. If it is not installed, you can install it from the Help menu in Eclipse.