Note:  Please remember the teaching staff does not support or assist in setting up software for use at home.  If you are having problems you should email the class listserv so others can offer advice or tell you what they did.  You may email Mike or your TA if you think you have done everything correctly, but he will may not be able to assist you with your specific problem.  Working at home has its benefits and I recommend you do download the Java Platform Standard Edition and either Eclipse or BlueJ if you have a computer at home.

Please go to here to download the Download Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 6.0. You want to download the "JDK Update 6." Another option is to download the "JDK Update 6 with NetBeans 6.1". NetBeans is a Java IDE (interactive development environment) created by Sun. I have not used it, but from reports I have heard it is a decent IDE.

The installation instructions for Windows machines are here. Instructions for Linux are here. Macintosh users will have to go here to download the Java 5.0 and install. (Java 6.0 does not appear to be available yet for Macintoshes. There is a developer version available. However, version 5.0 will work fine for this course.)

Pick the appropriate link.  I will talk through what to do if you are using Windows.  If you are using a Macintosh click here for a page with instructions on how to download and install Java for the Mac.  If you are using Linux I assume you don't need much help and you can just click on the Linux download and follow the instructions from their.

To download and install the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) version 6.0 for Windows.

1. From the page http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp click on the "JDK 6 Update 16" download button. (Note, the update number may be something different than 16. Don't worry, about that number. You do not need JavaFX, Java EE, or Netbeans (unless you want to use that IDE.))
2. Select your platform and check the license agreement box if you accept the terms and conditions of the license agreement.  (Note section 3 which states "You acknowledge that Software is not designed, licensed or intended for use in the design, construction, operation or maintenance of any nuclear facility. "  Earlier versions of Java include restrictions on using Java for software  intended "for use in on-line control of aircraft, air traffic, aircraft navigation or aircraft communications.")
3. It took me two and a half minutes to download the file with my connection in the CS department. (Your results may vary.) 
4. After downloading click the file icon to start the installer if it does not start automatically.
5. After downloading and installing Java I recommend also downloading and installing Eclipse, a powerful, but complex IDE. You are free to use whatever IDE (JCreator, BlueJ, DrJava, Emacs, VI, Notepad and command line) you want, but I have support pages for Eclipse.
6. If you want to download all 53 megabytes of documentation, which actually isn't a bad idea, go to the download page where you got the JDK. Expand the "Additional Resources" menu:
   
   
   
   Scroll down until you see the choice for "Java SE 6 JDK Documentation"  and follow the instructions to download the documentation.  The process is similar to the J2SE, except you will download a zipped file and have to expand it.  If you do not have a program on your computer to zip and unzip files (compress and decompress) try PKZip for Windows which can be downloaded for free.  I find it best to bookmark the index page (the local copy on your computer) from the API folder in my web browser.

That's all.  If you want more information on Java their is an excellent tutorial at Sun's Java site.