I’ll start with JCreator ( it is what I used for years with my students, and with which I am most familiar and comfortable. JCreator has a paid version that is more powerful than the free version, but that is a choice you must make. The best thing about all these IDEs is that they are free to obtain and use. We’ll explore four of the more commonly used ones with which I am most familiar: Several IDEs are available out there, most for free, some at a cost.

a way to compile/debug/run a program at the click of a button.

a text editor in which programs are coded.

Generally speaking, in my opinion after 20+ years of CS teaching, the easier an IDE is to learn how to use, the better it is for beginning students.Īn IDE essentially provides two primary functions: There are several out there, all equally effective, some easier to use, some powerful enough for professional use. It’s partly a word-processor, and partly a debugging, compiling and executing application for the program. Given that programming in itself is difficult enough, choosing a tool that streamlines this important learning process is crucial to student success and confidence.Īn IDE is an Integrated Development Environment, which simply means an application that serves as a convenient mechanism to develop and test programs in any language, including Java.

One of the most important initial choices by a computer science teacher is what IDE to use with beginning students, one that offers the necessary features, but does not require a steep learning curve that might inhibit initial student progress.

Jcreator v5 portable download