Java Environment

     Java environment has large number of development tools and number of classes and methods. The development tools are part of a system called Java Development kit (JDK). The classes and methods are of the Java Standard Library (JSL) also known as Application Programming Interface (API).

Java Development Kit (JDK)

                 

     This contains tools for developing and running java programs. The tools are

applet viewer - This is used to run java applets.

javac                   - Java compiler which converts java source code to java  byte code.

java                     - Java interpreter which converts java byte code to machine code.

Javap                  - Java disassemble which is used to convert byte code files into a program dscription.

Javadoc             - This creates HTML format documentation from java source code files.

Jdb                      - Java debugger which helps us to find errors in the program.

Javah                  - This creates header files when native methods are used (C, C++)

Java Standard Library (JSL)

                

     JSL includes large number of classes and methods. These are grouped into number of packages. The most commonly used packages are

                Language support package - A collection of classes and methods used for implementing basic features of java.

                Utilities package                     - A collection of classes to provide utility functions such as date and time.

                Applet package                       - A collection of classes which are used to create applets.

                Abstract window                    - A collection of classes which are used to implement graphical user interface.

                Input/output package          - A collection of classes used for input / output manipulation.