Java Newbies inherit a big Java project

[SquatterMadras]

Hi there,

My friend and I (both completely new to Java, but programmers in other languages) have inherited a large Java project and we are not sure where to start on it.

The author has passed on all source files to us, and some basic instructions involving Maven, Eclipse, etc. etc.. We think we've managed to get everything installed as he suggested, and the project loaded into Eclipse - we're just not really sure where to go from here - or even how to simply just build the version that has been passed to us (we were advised to "look at the Javadoc" too ?)

We've had a look at a few online tutorials on Eclipse, but we have been advised to use specific versions of Maven, Eclipse etc. and it all seems to be a bit different. Should it all just work in the latest versions anyway or are the later versions not always backwards compatible ?

Any help in getting started with this would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

[Nepomuk]

Hi there,

My friend and I (both completely new to Java, but programmers in other languages) have inherited a large Java project and we are not sure where to start on it.

The author has passed on all source files to us, and some basic instructions involving Maven, Eclipse, etc. etc.. We think we've managed to get everything installed as he suggested, and the project loaded into Eclipse - we're just not really sure where to go from here - or even how to simply just build the version that has been passed to us (we were advised to "look at the Javadoc" too ?)

We've had a look at a few online tutorials on Eclipse, but we have been advised to use specific versions of Maven, Eclipse etc. and it all seems to be a bit different. Should it all just work in the latest versions anyway or are the later versions not always backwards compatible ?

Any help in getting started with this would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Hi SquatterMadras! Welcome to TSDN!

That situation sounds quite overwhelming (new language, new IDE, big project, lot's of finished code), so it's good that you have found your way here.

The Tip about JavaDoc is good - there should be comments starting with /** and ending with */ in the code - those are comments, that are packed to a JavaDoc file. Somewhere in your path (normally in a directory called "doc" or similar) there should be a few html files, including "allclasses-frame.html", "allclasses-noframe.html" and "index.html ". Open the index.html and there you have your JavaDoc.

The JavaDoc is constructed in a standard way, that you can also find with the Java API - a great collection of information about the classes available in Standard Java. (You should either bookmark or download it - check the Java Articles Index for a download link and more useful links.)

Normally, Eclipse should be set to build your project automatically. Maven is used to pack it together (search for Maven tutorials for more information). If you want to run your project, you have to find a Class with a public static void main method - that is your main method. Left click on it, choose "Run As -> Java Application" (or whatever it is) and it should start up.

Backwards compatibility shouldn't be an issue, as Eclipse is only an IDE - it should be able to cope with any .java file. I would guess, so should Maven. I'd always work with the latest version, if there's no good reason not to do so, as it normally offers most options.

There, I can't think of any other tips right now. I hope that those I gave can help you.

Greetings,
Nepomuk