BlueJ
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 BlueJ example screenshot on Mac OS X 10.6 |
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| Maintainer | BlueJ Group, King's College London, University of Kent |
| developer | Michael Kölling and John Rosenberg |
| Current version |
4.2.2 ( October 4, 2019 ) |
| operating system | platform independent |
| programming language | Java , Stride |
| category | Integrated development environment |
| License | GNU General Public License 2.0 |
| www.bluej.org | |
BlueJ is an integrated development environment for Java that was specially designed for educational purposes. The focus of the system is in particular on conveying relationships in object-oriented programming .
The user has to program a window with a shortened UML - class diagram and a text editor with syntax highlighting and auto-completion is available. In the class diagram, the user can create classes and create associations between them. Changes to the diagram have an immediate effect on the source text and vice versa.
BlueJ provides a runtime environment for individual objects including input and output windows for methods . After compiling , the user can create objects of the classes, call public methods on the object and observe the assignment of the object variables. Individual objects can be used without having to specify a complete Java program. BlueJ can be obtained free of charge from the homepage and can be used under the GNU GPL license (GPLv2).
history
The development of BlueJ was started in 1999 by Michael Kölling and John Rosenberg at Monash University in Melbourne , as the successor to their programming language Blue. Since March 2009 BlueJ is a free software which is under GPLv2. The logo goes to the Blue Jays , in English Blue Jay back.
The development environment itself is programmed in Java and runs under Windows , macOS and Linux with the latest Java Virtual Machine and an installed JDK .
The project is being developed further at King's College London .
With version 4.0 from March 8, 2017, BlueJ offers support for Git and Stride, their own programming language.
Functions
- The class diagram is displayed graphically and updated after each compilation process
- Inheritance and relationships are displayed
- Any object can be "inspected", i. H. the state of the variables can be considered
- Functions can be called directly on an object
- Code completion
- Javadoc support
- Version management support (Git and SVN)
BlueJ can be used to develop conventional Java programs using the Main method and JavaFX programs.
Some of the functions are deliberately hidden or inactive by default in order to enable a clear user interface despite the variety of functions.
Extensions
BlueJ offers an API for extensions. Extensions exist (and are freely available) for, among other things, extended UML representation, PMD integration, code formatting, project submission for teaching contexts, Checkstyle, Lego Mindstorms NXT , Eliot, GUI programming and more.
BlueJ projects can easily be converted to NetBeans projects, and both IDEs are compatible (they can be used with a project at the same time).
See also
literature
- David Barns and Michael Kölling: Objects First with Java a Practical Introduction using BlueJ. Pearson Education, ISBN 0-13-606086-2 .
- David Barns and Michael Kölling: Learn Java with BlueJ. Pearson Education (Pearson Studium), Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-86894-001-5 . (An introduction to object-oriented programming, German edition including CD-ROM)
Web links
- official website
- Community for teachers
- BlueJ course from Ulrich Helmich