CPT307 - Week 1 - Interactive Activity 2

 Hello everyone,

This week, I will be discussing how to install Java and Netbeans IDE and discussing the main concepts and features of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP).

JDK/NetBeans Guidance

To initially start, we are going to install Java (JDK) we are going to visit this website - Java (JDK) from this link we will choose which operating system we would like to install the Java on, in this case, we are going to be working with Windows, from there we select whichever bit version of Windows the user is running. In my personal case, x64 bit, then click on one of the various links provided, I find it easier to just use the installer which is 152MB. Once downloaded, open the executable and follow the visual prompts from the installer. Once completed to verify if the Java has been correctly installed we will open up our command prompt through either Windows key then run then type in CMD or hit the Windows key then type "command prompt", a black window will open up. 

From here in the command prompt, we will type this command, Javac -version. If installed correctly you will receive a message confirming which version of Java you have installed. See the image below.

If you did not receive the correct prompt above, try and reinstall the Java process, and or restart the computer, sometimes this can fix the issue. Now that we have successfully installed Java, we need to get the NetBeans IDE. From the following link we can download the installer - Netbeans IDE as of the current state of NetBeans IDE, it appears the current update is 12.6. So please begin to download then install the software following the visual prompts. We can open the NetBeans IDE application at this point after successfully updating and installing the program. Now that all the necessary functions have been established we will want to visit this link to the NetBeans IDE quick start guide here - Quickstart this will be the best resource to help create our first application "Hello World!" this will help establish a more current up-to-date guide on simpler ways to help identify some of the different functionalities that are within the NetBeans 12.6 environment.

Object-Oriented Programming Concepts

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is the methodology to design a program that uses objects and classes. Essentially, objects are entities that have two key factors, these factors are states and behaviors. States in objects are mainly the idea of descriptions of an entity, for example, a lamp, the state description, the base of it, the height, perhaps brightness levels, then the behaviors would be is it on or off.  Then moving onto what a collection of objects are which are classes, these essentially are blueprints from which objects are created. Then from objects, there is the concept of inheritance where an object has all the same attributes as a parent object, thus leading into the polymorphism concept where a task can be run in different ways. Those are just some of the key factors towards Object-Oriented Programming, but why would anyone use this form of programming for Java? Object-Oriented Programming helps make the development and maintenance of a project easier when projects grow in size. Object-Oriented Programming also helps by providing the functionality to hide critical data within the program. Following this resource will help anyone new to the Java language get a better understanding of how Object-Oriented Programming works and how we will be able to use this to better our skills. Link to resource - Object-Oriented Programming