Java™ Application Development on Linux - Dator

116Chapter 5The Sun Microsystems Java Software <strong>Development</strong> Kit5.1WHAT YOU WILL LEARNIn this chapter you will learn about the purpose of the programs in the Sun JavaSoftware <strong>Development</strong> Kit. We will provide you with some details of their optionsand demonstrate their use in compiling our two sample applications. Thenext step up in tool automation would be the build tool known as Ant (seeChapter 9 for more information).5.2ALL YOU NEED, AND NOT ONE THING MOREThese days, many programmers are what we affectionately call “tool junkies.”They can only develop software with the support of complex integrated developmentenvironments, their supporting classes, and screen painting tools. Bythis, we do not mean to imply that we are Luddites. The right IDE can indeedbe an enormous boost to productivity, but a programmer should be able towork with any tool. The Sun Java SDK is the lowest common denominator; ifyou can be productive with it, then you can be productive with absolutely anyJava development environment. That makes your skills more portable. Andthat means more jobs are open to you. And that is good for you and youremployers.The Sun Microsystems Java SDK (formerly known as, and often still referredto as the Sun Microsystems Java <strong>Development</strong> Kit, or JDK) providesyou with all the tools you need to compile, document, run, package, debug,and deploy Java applications and applets. It does this with a collection ofpurely text-based command-line tools. This is no-frills software development.But a lot of us crusty old types really like that.You should become comfortable and familiar with these tools. Some IDEsare just fancy window dressing that calls these tools underneath (some arenot—some have written their own Java compilers, for example). If you can usethese tools comfortably to build any kind of Java program, then you know youhave a mastery of the basics and are not “addicted” to a particular tool. You alsoknow the “hardest” way to get the job done. This will help you to make goodchoices about tools that enhance productivity. Some tools, we find, actuallyslow you down or get in your way in some cases. If you know the lowest level,you can better recognize the merits and flaws of more advanced tools. Enoughjustification. On to the SDK.