README for installing Java programming stuff at home
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Please note that Eclipse is the IDE of choice because
it is free, Open Source, and we need to be on the same
page in the classroom.  Most students seem to like it
despite its rather large footprint (512MB RAM is
recommended at the time of this writing), and it does
seem to run smoothly on machines with only 256MB RAM.
In the classroom, the machines only have 128MB RAM and
the clumsiness becomes apparent quickly and yet most
student preferred to use Eclipse over a commercial
product because of its features.

That said, there are alternatives, and as long as you
can get work done, most of those should be fine.
(I really need to get a list of freeware choices
put on the Java favorites page.  If you have any
packages that you particularly like, please let me
know so we can share the information with others.)

To run Java you need two pieces--something with which
to write and compile Java code, and something with
which the compiled code can actually run on your
computer.  Eclipse is great for the former.  By
downloading the Eclipse SDK, you will have an
industrial strength development environment.

I also recommend that you download Sun's Java SDK.
It contains Sun's JRE as well which will permit you
to run Java programs on your computer.

(You may already have a JRE on your machine.  If you
have a PC, check under Start->Settings->Control Panel
and look under Add/Remove Programs.)

The downloads can take a LONG time.  They eat up
several tens of megabytes, and if you have a slow
connection, it may be one of those things where you
start the download before you go to bed and check and
see if it worked in the morning.  Alternatively, you
could buy a memory stick and copy the download image
onto that while you are in the computer lab.  Memory
sticks are getting cheaper by the minute and they
make great backup devices when you are not
transporting massive products like Eclipse.

For what it's worth, at the time of this writing,
I have JRE SE v1.5.0 on my machine at home.