Getting Started

## 8.1 Getting Started

- Check your Java SDK version
- Make the `com.parctechnologies.eclipse` package available in your class path
- Compile and run `QuickTest.java`

At the end of this section you will run the simple Java program `QuickTest.java` which uses ECLiPSe. First of all though you need to check that your Java SDK version is recent enough and that your classpath correctly set up.

### 8.1.1 Check your Java SDK version

Use of the Java-ECLiPSe Interface requires an installation of the Java SDK (Standard Developer's Kit) version 1.2.2 or later. If your Java SDK installation is an earlier version than this or you do not have the Java SDK on your machine, the latest version can be downloaded from Sun Microsystems Inc. (`http://www.sun.com`).

### 8.1.2 Make the `com.parctechnologies.eclipse` package available in your class path

The Java-ECLiPSe Interface consists mainly of a Java package which is used as a library by the Java programs you will write. This package is included as a `.jar` file located within the ECLiPSe distribution at:

> `<eclipse_dir>``/lib/eclipse.jar`

You are free to copy `eclipse.jar` to a more convenient location. However, to compile or run any Java programs which use the package you must include the full path of `eclipse.jar` in your classpath. For more information on using the classpath, please consult your Java documentation.

### 8.1.3 Compile and run `QuickTest.java`

To test that everything is working as it should be, and to see a quick example of the Java-ECLiPSe Interface at work, try compiling and running the Java program `QuickTest.java`. This starts up an ECLiPSe from Java and tells it to write a message to `stdout`. The program can be found at

> `<eclipse_dir>``/doc/examples/JavaInterface``/QuickTest.java`

After compilation, to run the program, start the Java interpreter as you normally would but before the name of the class, supply the command line option

> `-Declipse.directory=<eclipse_dir>`

This tells Java where to find the ECLiPSe installation, so it can run ECLiPSe. You should use this command line options when running all other examples in this document. When you run `QuickTest.java`, you should get a single line of output: `hello world`. How `QuickTest.java` works is explained in Section 8.2.