For this assignment, you will begin the process of creating a high quality software engineering environment on your computer.
Preferred hardware is a laptop with >= 2 Ghz processor, >= 2 GB RAM, >= 20 GB free disk space, and wireless access. As noted in the lecture, a Dell Laptop satisfies these requirements for $500-$1000. Note that “netbooks” are not suited for professional software development: while more portable, their screens are too small and they generally have less RAM and slower CPUs.
An up to date release of Mac OS/X or a Linux-based OS are the preferred operating systems for this class. If you must use Windows, you should use the latest release.
If needed, I can sign you up for MSDNAA, which will provide you with a free copy of the latest Windows OS.
Download and install the Java 7 JDK and JavaDoc documentation from here. Be sure to download and install the “JDK” package, which includes both the JRE and additional tools such as ‘jar’ , ‘javadoc’, and ‘javac’. Don’t download the “JRE” package.
On Windows, you must change the default installation directory to a file path that does not contain spaces. The default on Windows is c:\Program Files\Java, which is bogus. Change it to something like c:\Java. You will run into problems if you install the JDK inside c:\Program Files.
Add {java}/bin to your PATH variable, where {java} is replaced by the location where you installed it.
Also download the Java SE 7 Documentation. Unzip the documentation package into {java}.
If you have installed Java correctly, then you should be able to type “java
-version” and “jar -help” at the command line and get reasonable responses. If
you have installed the documentation correctly, then you should be able to
retrieve it in a browser using a local URL such as:
file:///C:/Java/jdk1.7.0_02/docs/index.html.
The most useful link is to the
JavaDocs, at an URL like: file:///C:/Java/jdk1.7.0_02/docs/api/index.html.
You must be running Snow Leopard (10.6) or later. To ensure you are running Java 7 by default, see the JDK 7 Mac Install Page.
For the past few semesters, a gentleman with the email address ‘phillipmjohnson@gmail.com’ has been receiving emails from ICS software engineering students intended for me. He is quite frustrated and wants this to stop. I apologized, told him that I would make a point of informing the class of the correct spelling (philipmjohnson@gmail.com), and that he should simply delete any future emails without replying. So, be very careful to spell my name correctly. If you misspell it on an assignment submission, you might not get credit!
You are expected to bring your laptop to class every day. During a class period on or after the date associated with this assignment on the Calendar page, I will review your environment in class.