Key Concepts

Before you begin work in the IDE, you should be familiar with the following concepts:

Filesystems and the Java Class Path

A filesystem is a virtual representation of a file hierarchy in the IDE. You can view the file hierarchies of local directories, network directories, or archive files after you mount them in the IDE. Mounted filesystems determine the Java class path used by the IDE to compile, debug, and run your Java applications.

Mounting Filesystems

All the source files, libraries, and archive files needed by your applications must be mounted as filesystems before the IDE can recognize and use them. After you mount a filesystem, it is, by default, added to the classpath for compiling, running, and debugging your applications in the IDE. For additional information, see Filesystems and Application Development.

Accessing Files Using the Explorer

The Filesystems tab in the Explorer window shows the hierarchical organization of the mounted filesystems and allows you to expand a filesystem node to view the objects contained within it. Right-clicking on an item in the Explorer allows you to view an object's properties, modify the properties, change the object itself, and more.

Templates

Templates determine the initial appearance and behavior of the objects you want to create. They help reduce the amount of time and effort involved in creating your application. Java components, such as Swing and Abstract Window Toolkit (AWT) containers, are provided as standard templates. Templates are also provided for applets, classes, dialog boxes, HTML files, text files, and bookmarks.

Projects

You can begin working in the IDE without creating a project first. You can first create the files required to produce an applet or an application, and later create the project to organize the files. You can use all the functions, which are available in the Filesystems tab of the Explorer window, when working with your new files. By organizing your work in the IDE into projects, you can operate on the files as a whole. For example, when you compile a project, you compile all of the Java source files in it.

See also
A Tour of the IDE
Key Concepts

Filesystems and Objects
Configuring the IDE
Projects in the IDE

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