Installing Java and Choosing an IDE: My Experience on a Mac

Installing Java and Choosing an IDE: My Experience on a Mac

As part of a recent class exercise, I was tasked with walking through the process of installing Java and selecting an IDE on a new machine. Since I had never used Java on my personal Mac before, I decided to go through the installation from scratch to get an authentic, first-time experience.

Although I have some prior experience with both installing Java and working with different IDEs, I wanted to ensure I wasn’t missing any key steps. To guide me through the process, I turned to YouTube tutorials—one of my go-to resources for quick and effective learning. This time, I came across a creator I hadn’t watched before: ProgrammingKnowledge. Their tutorials were incredibly helpful, and I found two videos particularly useful for this exercise:

1. Installing Java on a Mac – Watch here

2. Installing Eclipse – Watch here

My IDE Choice: IntelliJ IDEA vs. Eclipse

While the exercise encouraged exploring IDE options, I personally chose IntelliJ IDEA as my primary IDE. Since I already have a JetBrains account, installing IntelliJ on my Mac was seamless—it provided a direct installation link as soon as I signed in. The process was so straightforward that I didn’t even need a tutorial.

That said, I wanted to have a backup IDE, so I decided to explore Eclipse, a popular choice among Java developers. Since I hadn’t used it before, I followed the ProgrammingKnowledge tutorial to install Eclipse and get familiar with its setup.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this exercise was a great refresher on Java installation and IDE selection. Even though I’ve done similar setups in the past, it’s always helpful to revisit the process and ensure I’m using the most efficient methods. Whether you’re new to Java or just setting up a fresh environment, I highly recommend checking out ProgrammingKnowledge on YouTube for clear and well-structured tutorials.

Do you have a preferred Java IDE? Let me know in the comments!