The previous article mentioned configuring the JDK for the Java development environment, so now let’s try compiling a Hello World program using JDK 13.

Create a new file in the working directory, name it HelloWorld.java, and write the following code:

public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello World");
    }
}

Open the working directory in cmd, compile the file with javac HelloWorld.java. If there are no errors and a HelloWorld.class file is generated, then enter java HelloWorld to run it.

The output is fine, but using Notepad++ every time you write code is not very convenient, so you need some powerful IDEs to assist with Java development.

The most popular IDEs for Java development are Eclipse, NetBeans, and IntelliJ. The one I’m going to install now is the last one, IntelliJ IDEA.

Installation

Open the Chinese version of IDEA’s official website, https://www.jetbrains.com/zh-cn/idea/, and click Download directly.

There are Ultimate and Community editions here. Generally, downloading the Community edition is sufficient, and it is open-source and free. But I have a student discount, so I have to go with the Ultimate edition. For details about JetBrains’ student discount, see https://www.jetbrains.com/zh-cn/student/. There are three ways to apply: an Edu email address, the GitHub Student Developer Pack, and a student ID card. As for the details, I’ll leave that for now and write a detailed article about it next time.

Change the installation path and click Next.

Pay attention here. The content shown above is roughly about associating some common file extensions with opening methods and adding some shortcuts. Generally speaking, there is no need to check these options.

Basically, just keep clicking Next, and the installation will begin.

After the installation is complete, click Finish to close the window, then find IntelliJ IDEA in the Windows Start menu and open it.

When you open it for the first time, you will be asked whether you have a configuration file. Select the second option (none).

Next, choose a theme. I prefer the white one.

There is a large collection of plugins below. Enable them as needed. For example, you can disable all of the Git-related ones because I use another Git client. For Android, it is best to enable the plugins, since IntelliJ IDEA can also be used for Android development.

There is another collection of plugins. This time, I chose not to install any of them. Don’t worry; after installing the program, you can continue installing plugins in Settings-Plugins.

Click Start using IntelliJ IDEA to start using it directly.

Testing

After installing IDEA, let’s run Hello World to give it a try.