Getting Started
The information below should assist in setting up your personal computer to run samples from class, and allow you to work on your assignments. Any modern computer should work reasonably well, as long as you have admin rights to install and configure software.
You will need to install the following tools. Make sure to install the correct version number for each one:
| Software / Version | Purpose | Source | How to install? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Git 2.40 or earlier | Assignment submissions | https://git-scm.org | Manually | Any version that works with <git.uwaterloo.ca> is acceptable. |
| IntelliJ IDEA 2023.1 or later | Development environment | https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/ | Manually | There are two versions of IntelliJ IDEA: the (open source) Community Edition and the (commercial) Ultimate Edition. JetBrains offers free educational licenses to students, which includes a license for IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate if you wish. Either one will work for this course. |
| (JDK 17 or later) and (JDK 11) | Java platform | For example, Eclipse Temurin | Automatically | If not present, you will be prompted to install from within IntelliJ. |
| JavaFX | JavaFX toolkit | Not applicable | Automatically | Specified within your build.gradle file for your project, and maintained by Gradle. |
| Android Tiramisu or later | Android toolikit | Not applicable | Automatically | If not present, you will be prompted to install from within IntelliJ. |
To test that your installation is working correctly, try opening and running code from the public repository. Instructions are in the Running Samples section.
Version numbers matter! We have to install a number of different software packages in this course, and it is important that you install compatible versions. Installing the wrong version of a library or dependency is the main cause of build errors.