My First Java Program - How to compile and run java program

It's easy to start writing program in java. To write your first java program, open an editor like notepad, notepad++ or any other editor and write bellow line of code.

 class MyFirstProgram
   {
     public static void main(String [] args)
       {
         System.out.println("refresh java");
       }
   }							

The program given above is a very basic java program which will just print a string message refresh java in console after execution. We will understand different terms and their meaning used in above program in next tutorial. The image given below shows the above program written in Notepad editor.

After writing the code in editor, the next step is to save the file as per the convention given by java which says the file name should be same as the class name with .java extension. So let's save the above program file as MyFirstProgram.java. In above program the name of class is MyFirstProgram.

How to compile java program

After saving the file, the next step is to compile the java program using javac command. Before compiling ensure that Path variable for java is set in your system. To compile above program, open a terminal(eg. CMD in windows) and move to the directory where above program is saved. In my case program is saved inside D:\JavaPrograms directory. Now execute the following command :

javac MyFirstProgram.java// Don't forget to add .java extension while compiling.

Once programmer executed above command, java compiler will check for any syntax error in the program, if it doesn't find any error, a .class file as MyFirstProgram.class will be generated at the same location where program is saved. In successful compilation, compiler does not display any message on command prompt instead a .class file is generated. Remember you need to write program file name with .java extension after javac command while compiling the program.

How to run java program

Once the .class file is generated, the next step is to run it using java command which uses only the .class file of that program at the time of execution. Execute following java command in the same directory where .class file is available to run the above java program.

java MyFirstProgram // Don't add .class extension while running.

As you can see in the screenshot, once you executed the above command, it displayed the output("refresh java") in CMD. Remember you need to write .class file name without .class extension after java command while running the program.

If you are in a directory other than your classpath(.class) directory, you can use -cp or -classpath attribute of java to provide the classpath directory while executing the program. The current directory in the image below is D:\Softwares while the .class file is in D:\JavaPrograms. Using the -cp or -classpath variable we can execute the program MyFirstProgram available in D:\JavaPrograms directory. Refer Path and Classpath tutorial to know about classpath in java.

The next tutorial will give you a brief introductions of different terms that we have used in above program and will cover some of the other aspects of a program as well.