Requirements

Last updated on 16th July 2024

JDK (Java Development Kit) 8

Regardless of the operating system, save the JDK 8 installation path for later use. The path will be necessary to set up the integrated development environment (IDE) later.

It is highly recommended that you download the 64-Bit version of the JDK (if your system supports it). This is because only the 64-Bit version allows you to customize the available JVM memory via commands like -Xms and -Xmx.

Windows

Download and install the latest version of JDK 8 from the Oracle repository.

The JDK 8 installation path is explicitly set in the Windows installer, and can be saved from there.

Mac OS and Linux

Run the following command in a terminal to check whether JDK 8 is already installed.

javac version

If the command returns a JDK version number that starts with 1.8 or higher, the system already has the proper JDK installed. Otherwise, the current JDK must be uninstalled before installing JDK 8.

Run the following command to uninstall an older JDK.

$ sudo rm -rf /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk<version>.jdk

The process of installing JDK 8 differs slightly between Mac OS and Linux.

On Mac OS, make sure Homebrew is installed, then run the following commands.

brew tap caskroom/versions
brew cask install java8

On Linux, run the following commands.

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer

The JDK 8 installation path is returned by the terminal after installation is complete.

IDE

Simudyne recommends using IntelliJ Idea. This IDE also manages builds, so it is not necessary to install a separate build tool.

There are instructions for using the Eclipse IDE in the reference section.

Maven

If using an IDE other than IntelliJ Idea, Simudyne recommends installing the Maven build tool.

Windows

  1. Visit the Maven repository and download the latest release.
  2. Extract the file and save it in the C:\Program Files directory.
  3. Right click on the Windows button, in the lower left corner of the screen, and open "Settings".
  4. In the search field, search for and select "Edit the system environment variables".
  5. On the "Advanced" tab, click "Environment Variables".
  6. In "System Variables", add the following variables if they do not exist. Otherwise, edit them accordingly.
Name Value
JAVA_HOME JDK repository (JDK installation path)
M2_HOME C:\Program Files\apache-maven-x.x.x
MAVEN_HOME C:\Program Files\apache-maven-x.x.x
PATH Add "%M2_HOME%\bin" to existing variable

To add the Maven home location to the PATH system variable:

  1. Select the PATH system variable.
  2. Underneath the list of system variables, click "Edit".
  3. In the dialog that appears, click "New."
  4. Enter "%M2_HOME%\bin" into the next empty PATH variable row.
  5. Hit "Enter" to save the value.

Finally, check whether the install was successful by running the following command.

mvn -v

If it returns Apache Maven X.X.X, the install was successful.

Mac OS and Linux

On Mac OS, run the following command.

$ brew install maven

On Linux, run the following command.

$ apt-cache search maven
$ sudo apt-get install maven