Introduction to Java

This is the first article of the series of articles Basics of Java. This article set is ideal for beginners because in this articles series we are going to learn Java from the scratch.

Java is an object-oriented and class-based programming language that was released by Sun Microsystems in the year 1995.

Java Installation for Windows

To code and execute java programs you have to have Java Development Kit (JDK) installed in your machine.
JDK IMAGE

First you have to visit this site, and click 'JDK download' of the latest version as show in the given image.

It is not prohibited to have several JDK versions in the same machine, but it is always recommended to have only the latest version.

Next you will be directed to a page looking like this;

Scroll down till you reach the grid 'Java SE Development Kit'. There you have to choose the file matching to your operating system. Then accept the license agreement and hit download.

Once the download is completed, open the downloaded file and let it to be installed. All you have to do is following the instructions given in the menu boxes.

Setting Environment Variables

Once the installation is completed you have to set environment variables. First go to the folder where you have installed the JDK. Then proceed to the bin folder. Copy the path up to there.

Then go to the Settings of your machine and select System.

Then select the following option.

After that you have to select 'Environmental Variables...'

Next, select the variable 'path' and click 'Edit'.

Click 'New' and paste the path (to bin folder) that you have copied before, and hit OK.

Setting System Variables

Now you have to set system variables. Here you have to copy the path up to bin folder (excluding it).
Click New in system variables section and give a name and the path and hit OK.

Now we are ready to check whether you have successfully completed the process. First go to the command prompt. Then type java -version. Then if you see the result showing your java version, congratulations you have done perfectly so far.

With that we have come to the end of this article. In next article you will learn how to download and install intelij idea in your machine.