If you have decided to learn an object oriented programming language like Java, you might be exited and want to start right away. In this article I will show you how to make your first simple program and run it on your computer. You need 3 things: A compiler A good self-study book or a course Persistence There are three editions of Java. SE, ME and EE. You want the SE which is Standard Edition. The others are Mobile Edition and Enterprise Edition. After you have downloaded and installed the JDK, you need to make one small change in your PC settings. You want the compiler to be accessible from the command prompt. To do that you have to add the location of the program files to the PATH variable. 1: Click Start → Control Panel → System ( assuming you use Windows XP) 2: Read more [...]