An introduction to a lightweight Java IDE - JCODER

Java is an object orientated programming (OOP) technique which is designed to simplify complex programming concepts.  Object orientated programming uses three basic concepts which are the fundamentals for the programming language.  These concepts consist of objects, methods and classes.  Additional concepts are Inheritance, Abstraction, Polymorphism, Event Handling and Encapsulation. 

Object Orientated Programming was originally developed by Xerox PARC to specify a computer application that describes the methodology of using objects as the foundation for computation.  By the 1980’s, OOP’s rose to prominence as the best most reliable programming language.  Currently, OOP’s such as Java, J2EE, Visual Basic.NET and JavaScript are popular OOP programming languages that any good Software Engineer or developer should be familiar with.

Java was originally developed by Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model. Java applications are typically compiled to byte code that can run on any Java virtual machine (JVM) regardless of computer architecture.

Today Java is used widely across the internet but it is also an invisible force behind many of the applications and devises that power our day-to-day lives.  Mobile phones, handheld devises, games and navigation systems are all java driven.

JCODER is a Java integrated development environment (IDE) that runs on Windows which enables programmers to create, modify, navigate and debug their code faster with a lot more accuracy. 

JCODER features a nice and simple interface which provides a range of features including fast opening, rapid response times, multiple project management, wizards, customisable user interface, class viewer, package viewer, tabbed documents, multiple source path support, syntax checking and highlighting, stepping through a program step by step and remote debugging.  The list goes on and on and with the comprehensive code editor tools, programmers can develop sophisticated java applications or applets very quick and easily.  JCODER can also be used jointly with different other Java Development Kits (JDK).  You just need to configure the JDK profiles and your away.  The easy installation and intuitive interface makes JCODER an irreplaceable tool for Java programming.

In more detail, with the JCODER IDE you can work on multiple documents simultaneously using multiple tab groups, split view, and cross-document search. 

You can navigate through projects and files using a smart tree view and when files have been updated or added you will see these on the tree. 

It has plenty of support for the standing editing features including incremental search, auto-indent and out-dent, displaying of tabs and spaces, simple navigation back and forward and unlimited undo/redo capabilities.

Syntax checking and highlighting helps you to catch any errors immediately and improve readability. 

The smart code completion feature allows you to code faster; it will suggest methods properties and events to insert into your code relating to what you are doing.

It has an overview ruler which helps you to easily locate any errors by quickly navigating to errors that might not be visible on the screen.

The remote debugging feature allows you to debug any of your programs which are running on a remote machine.  It works exactly as if you were debugging the code locally except the client user interface is running on one system while the debug engine is running on another system.

JCODER also supports keyboard shortcuts which helps increase the productivity when performing certain tasks. 

It has a bookmarking feature which allows you to navigate through long files.  You can mark any part of code with a bookmark; this will display a green flag in the left hand side of the code editor.  Then when you need to return to that bookmark you just click on the green flag and immediately you will be taken there.  

Overall the JCODER makes compiling java programs and applets very simple indeed.  If you are just starting out learning Java you will need to learn and understand the basic fundamentals in OOP’s first.  There are plenty of online tutorials to work through and before long you will have programmed for very own java program /applet.