Java Reference
In-Depth Information
to place it elsewhere (the default is fine for this illustration). When you're
finished, click
Next
.
You're now prompted to specify the name of the directory where all the
Java source files for your project are located. For a new project, you're
specifying a new directory in which to put new files. The default is
src
,
which is fine for this example. A src directory will be created beneath the
module content root. Click
Next
to continue.
12
The last dialog prompts you to specify where the output from the com-
piler should be placed. When the source in src is compiled into classes,
this directory is where those class files will be stored. The default is
classes
under the module content root, and this default is again fine for our
example. Click
Finish
to complete the
New Project Wizard
.
13
IDEA
will take a moment to scan through and parse all the Java classes known to
your project (which, at the moment, are only the classes in the
JDK
). Let's push
ahead with the project!
1.3.2
Making a Java class
We've laid the groundwork around the “Hello, World” project by defining where
the files will live. Now it's time to create your first class. The following steps walk
you through one of the many ways to create classes in
IDEA
.
For the purposes of this exercise, let's create a class called
HelloWorld
in the
com.acme.hello
directory:
The toolbar on the left side of the window contains two
tool window but-
tons,
Project
and
Structure.
These represent
tool windows
:
secondary win-
dows within the interface that provide access and support for specific
tasks. Generally, the
Project
tool window permits you to view and control
your project, and the
Structure
tool window lets you view and maneuver
around the structure of the current file in the editor; we'll examine each
of the tool windows in greater depth in chapter 2. For now, click the
Project
tool window button to open that tool window.
1
The
Project
tool window opens, docked to the left side of the main win-
dow. Within that window, you can see a tree control representing the
complex structure that is your project: its modules and its libraries. You
need to navigate down to the source directory you specified in the
New
Project Wizard
, because that's where your source code for new classes
2
