Using NetBeans

NetBeans Setup

To install NetBeans, follow the description from the JDK/NetBeans document for Windows, Mac, or Ubuntu Linux. For the purposes of this course, these are the things we want to be able to do in NetBeans:

Create a new Java Application
Create a Java Application Project from Existing Sources (primarily from downloaded sources)
Close a Java Application
Access the files of a Java Application not necessarily through NetBeans.
Delete a Java Application with or without deleting the sources

Personalize NetBeans

Follow the steps listed in the Personalize NetBeans section of the NetBeans/JDK documents on the course website.

The HelloWorld project

The HelloWorld project is intended to be your first NetBeans project. I describe it in the JDK/NetBeans documents for Windows, Mac, or Ubuntu Linux. If you've already created it, either use another name, like HelloWorld1, or delete it (deleting sources).

When you start up NetBeans, three windows are available: Projects, Files, and Services. Mostly you work from Projects. Close Services since we'll never use it in this course. You can always control which windows are showing through the Window menu.

Follow these steps to create and run:

Select File ⇾ New Project, or right-click in Projects and select New Project.
In the New Project window, select the Java category, and choose Java Application, then Next.
Choose the project name HelloWorld. The other settings have default values which you probably want to use. The project location cannot be an existing directory.
NetBeans also pre-checks the box Create Main Class. Leave it checked. You can always just delete this automatically-generated Main class. Click Finish.
Within the public static void main function, enter the code
```
System.out.println("Hello World");
```
DO IT LIKE THIS: Use a NetBeans shortcut: clear the initial "TODO" comment and type "sout" then TAB to have it expand automatically to System.out.println("");
Save the changes and run the project. You can use the green run button or F6. Look for "Hello World" in the Output window at the bottom.
Cleanup. Select Source ⇾ Format.

Keyboard Shortcuts

NetBeans provides many useful keyboard shortcuts that, when learned, help speed up program development due to their frequent usage. You can find a PDF page of them via

Help ⇾ Keyboard Shortcuts Card

The "soutTAB" is one of the most useful of these. We illustrate two other shortcuts in the last section.

Running Project Main Classes

When run is invoked, NetBeans will run whatever is the "selected project" by virtue of whatever file is selected in the Projects window. For the most part, you only ever want to run a single Main Class when you run the project, but during development, it is often useful to have more than one Main Class.

NetBeans chooses the main program to run by Run Configuration settings for that project. To see what we mean, select the <default config> ⇾ Customize, and look for

Main Class:

The Browse button reveals the other Main Classes for choosing.

A more convenient way to deal with multiple Main Classes is by simply right-clicking the file in the Projects window and selecting Run File. You can then easily rerun the same file from the Output window by selecting the green re-run

button.

Class and JAR files

When a project is executed, NetBeans compiles the Java source files and puts the class files into the build directory. You can only see this from the Files window. Going there you'll find the compiled classes:

build/classes/helloworld/HelloWorld.class

Assuming that java is available in you system PATH, you can run this class (in this simple case) using a terminal shell by navigating to the build/classes subdirectory and invoking:

cd build/classes
java helloworld.HelloWorld

NetBeans also provides a "build" mechanism which encapsulates all classes into a JAR file in the dist directory. To build a project, run Build ⇾ Clean and Build Project or use the

button. Afterward, from the Files window you'll observe the new dist folder with HelloWorld.jar file. The JAR file offers a more portable way of presenting a Java Application. You can run it by:

cd dist
java -jar HelloWorld.jar

If there were any additional support JAR files, they would be available in the dist folder and you could still run the application through the "java -jar" mechanism.

Use HelloWorld.java for testing

There are many times in which you want to write a short code sequence using a few variable to test some code behavior. The HelloWorld project can provide such a "testing ground." Simply add the imports you need and use the main program, deleting old code as necessary.

Java Application from Existing sources

This will give us the opportunity to show the installation of an existing Java Application along with other NetBeans gimmicks.

Access the default NetBeansProjects directory

This NetBeansProjects directory is the following on the 3 systems of interest:

Documents\NetBeansProjects\     (Windows)
~/NetBeansProjects/             (Mac OSX & Linux)

The "~/" is notation for your home directory.

Mac OS X Home Folder

Unfortunately, the MAC OSX system wants to hide this from the finder; so do the following:

Open the Finder and from there, Finder ⇾ Preferences. Select the Sidebar tab. Within the Favorites section, locate your home folder (with your login name) and check it; it should now be easily accessible. Within your home directory, find the NetBeansProjects folder.

Install the source folder

Start by downloading and extracting the source archive (just click the hyperlink).

NumberGuess.zip

Browsers give you the opportunity to either save it as a zip file or extract it somewhere. Either way, you want to obtain the directory NumberGuess somewhere. The goal is to move the NumberGuess directory into your NetBeansProjects folder, which differs by operating system:

Documents\NetBeansProjects\     (Windows)
~/NetBeansProjects/             (Mac OSX & Linux)

Once you have the NumberGuess folder available we want to install it. Open NetBeans.

Create a New Project and select Java Project with Existing Sources, click Next.
Now the Name and Location dialog. The most important thing to get correct is:
```
Project Folder: /path/to/NetBeansProjects/NumberGuess
```
Secondarily you need to give the project a name. There are two ways to achieve these outcomes:
1. Specify the Project Folder first, then Project Name:
  - Use the Browse button to locate the Project Folder.
  - Enter the Project Name, which can be anything, not necessarily the folder basename NumberGuess.
2. Enter the Project Name first. By doing this first, NetBeans sets the Project Folder automatically. So it is best to make the Project Name be exactly NumberGuess.
Click Next.
In the Existing Sources window, click the Add Folder... button. Make sure that it is open to the correct folder with the src sub-folder visible. Select src and click Open.
Back in previous window, Finish.
Run it by pressing the green run button. The Run Project dialog gives a selection of possible Main Classes. There is only one in this case, so select it and click OK.
In the Output window you see the run:
```
run:
I've chosen 5 numbers between 1 and 20
Try to guess one: 
```
Type in any number at the prompt and the run will complete.

Here is the Main Class:

NumberGuess

package numberguess;
 
import java.util.Scanner;
import java.util.Random;
 
/**
 * @author Robert Kline
 */
public class NumberGuess {
 
  private static boolean findNum(int[] nums, int upto, int key) {
    for(int i = 0; i < upto; ++i) {
      if (key == nums[i]) {
        return true;
      }
    }
    return false;
  }
 
  private static void printNums(int[] nums, int how_many) {
    System.out.print("[");
    boolean first = true;
    for(int i = 0; i < how_many; ++i) {
      if (!first) System.out.print(", ");
      first = false;
      System.out.print(nums[i]);
    }
    System.out.print("]");
  }
 
  /**
   * @param args the command line arguments
   */
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    final int HOWMANY = 5;
    final int LIMIT = 20;
 
    int nums[] = new int[HOWMANY];
 
    // generate and store HOWMANY random integers into nums without duplicates
    int size = 0;
    Random randgen = new Random();
    while (size < HOWMANY) {
      int num = 1 + randgen.nextInt(LIMIT); // random int between 1 and LIMIT
      if (!findNum(nums, size, num)) {
        // num is not in current nums, add it, increase size by 1
        nums[size++] = num;
      }
    }
 
    Scanner keyboard = new Scanner(System.in);
 
    System.out.format("I've chosen %s numbers between 1 and %s\n", 
            HOWMANY, LIMIT);
    System.out.print("Try to guess one: ");
 
    int guess = keyboard.nextInt();
 
    // see if guess is in nums
    if (findNum(nums, HOWMANY, guess)) {
      System.out.println("you got it");
    } 
    else {
      System.out.println("wrong guess");
    }
 
    // print them
    System.out.print("nums:"); printNums(nums, HOWMANY); System.out.println();
  }
}

Now it will behave as if you had created the project from scratch. The Run Project dialog initially doesn't work because the desired Main Class is not initially set in the Run Configuration.

The format function

The format function (see the tutorial) offers a way to embed arguments into a string. Used in the way we have it above, System.out.format is synoymous with System.out.printf, but the format function can has a more general usage as

String.format

which allows you to create a string with embedded arguments, whether printed or not. Using the format function has advantages over the cumbersome usage of "+" to glue together fixed string segments and variables.

The first argument to the format function is the format string. The %s occurrences are the insertion points for the remaining arguments. For simplicity, the %s insertion point will always work, but for numerical arguments the %d and %f usages are common.

Commenting code sections and adding imports

After some research you discover a much way to print the nums array without the printNums function. First comment out the current output line:

// System.out.print("nums:"); printNums(nums, HOWMANY); System.out.println();

and below it write the replacement:

System.out.println("nums: " + Arrays.toString(nums));

This statement needs the additional import:

import java.util.Arrays;

but you can have NetBeans insert it by:

Right-click on the document and choose Fix Imports from the menu.

Then test it to see that it has the same effect.

Printing incomplete arrays

The above usages of both printnums as well as Arrays.toString only work correctly because the number of things in the array is exactly the array size. In general, you will have unused array entries at the end and so it is necessary to restrict the range printed with this code:

System.out.println("nums: " +
   Arrays.toString(Arrays.copyOfRange(nums, 0, HOWMANY))
);

Commenting Multiple Lines

Since you no longer need the printNums function, comment out the entire body (DON'T DELETE IT!). The slick, NetBeans way to do so is:

Select the body of the printNums function.
Type: "Control-/" (Windows/Linux) or "Command-/" (MAC). The comment string "//" is prepended to every line in the region.
If you wanted to "go back" the same operation undoes the comments.

Adding JavaDoc

Every member function should be documented via JavaDoc standards. NetBeans provides support for doing so. Start with the findNum function.

Position the cursor on an empty line above the findNum function, just above the "p" in "private".

Type "/**" then RETURN. The outline of the JavaDoc is generated for you:

  /**
   * 
   * @param nums
   * @param upto
   * @param key
   * @return 
   */

Fill in the missing information like this:

  /**
   * findNum returns true if the key is one of the elements in the nums
   * array prior to position upto
   * 
   * @param nums: the array to search
   * @param upto: one above the last search index
   * @param key: the element to search for
   * @return whether key is present or not
   */

Class-wide name change

You decide that the constant HOWMANY should really be HOW_MANY:

Select an occurrence of HOWMANY in any of the statements. Right-click and select Refactor ⇾ Rename to invoke a dialog in which you want this:

New Name:
Apply Rename on Comments

Click Refactor.

Use an ArrayList

In most circumstances, an ArrayList offers an improvement over a standard array. Start by replacing the definition of nums with this:

ArrayList<Integer> nums = new ArrayList<>();

Then there are three other sections which must be rewritten, and the findNum function can be commented out. Here is the solution:

Multi-system Project usage

A NetBeans project, once created, can easily be loaded onto different systems, so long as it does not reference external JAR files (which will be the case for all the projects in this course.)

A NetBeans project need not be within the "official" NetBeansProject directory. For example you can simply load it onto a USB flash drive, transport it to another system with NetBeans installed, and load it there. To load a project, simple navigate to the flash drive and Open it there!

Assume we're doing this on a Windows system for definiteness. Assume you have created a sample NetBeans project in the "usual" place, which would be in the Documents folder, more precisely:

C:\Users\LOGIN\Documents\NetBeansProjects

Let's use project NumberGuess. It is represented by the folder:

C:\Users\LOGIN\Documents\NumberGuess\Hello

Open the project on the flash drive

Insert your flash drive and open a folder which accesses the flash drive. Drag the NumberGuess folder into the flash drive folder.

From NetBeans, select, right-click on the Projects Window and choose Open Project. Navigate to the flash drive and select Hello which was copied onto the flash drive folder.

You now have 2 NumberGuess projects open! How do I know which one is which?

A very useful thing to know about is a Project's properties. To get this, again right-click on the project and select Properties from the menu (the last choice). Immediately you can tell which is which by the information in the Project Folder found at the top of the information dialog. So it is best to close the first one. Right click on the first one and select Close from the Menu.