Getting Started with Google App Engine for Java - Beginning Java Google App Engine - page 26

Installing the Java SDK
Although App Engine supports both Java 5 and Java 6 we recommend that you run
the Java 6 libraries and JVM for compiling and testing your application, because the
Google App Engine production environment runs Java 6. So, naturally, you'll want to
test and debug your application on the same platform that it will be running.
The fastest and easiest way to develop, debug, and deploy Java applications for
App Engine is by using the Eclipse IDE and the Google Plugin for Eclipse. In the next
section, we'll walk through the installation of the Eclipse IDE (Galileo) and the Google
Plugin for Eclipse. Mac and Windows use the same installation process, and Figure 3-1
shows the installation dialog for both environments.
Installing the Google Plugin for Eclipse
Before you can install the Google Plugin for Eclipse you should verify that Java is
running on your machine. (If you're already developing in Eclipse you can skip
this step. Eclipse requires a JDK to function, so you're covered.) If you're installing
Eclipse for the first time, verify that you have a JDK installed by running either of
the following commands from the terminal.
java -version
javac - version
If you need to download a JDK, start by downloading the appropriate release from
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads . Follow the instructions to install the JDK,
and then run the preceding commands again to verify that everything is set up
correctly.
The Google Plugin for Eclipse is available for versions 3.3 (Europa), 3.4
(Ganymede), and 3.5 (Galileo) of the Eclipse IDE. To install the Eclipse IDE on a Mac,
you just navigate to www.eclipse.org an d download the distribution for Mac OS X.
You need to extract a tar.gz file to the directory from which you'd like to run Eclipse,
for example, the Documents folder on a Mac. You can choose any location; it won't
have an affect on the exercises in this topic.
Once you have the Eclipse IDE installed you can use the Software Update feature
to install the Google Plugin for Eclipse. The Software Update feature is used to install
common add-ons and third-party packages into your Eclipse environment. You can
get started by launching Eclipse. On the Mac, double-click the file called Eclipse in
the directory where you extracted the distribution.
To install the plug-in using Eclipse 3.5 (Galileo) (see Figure 3-1):
1. Select the Help menu and then select the Install New Software
option.