Installing Netbeans
Follow the below instructions to install Java (JDK) and NetBeans on your computer. These tools are available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Java is the "language" that we're going to use to program this year's FRC robot. Alternatively, it's a very delicious beverage.
Just like in real life, programming has tons of languages you can code in. You may have heard of some others: C, C++, Python, Ruby, etc. Programming is essentially turning human-readable codes we've written into binary files that the computer can understand and run.
NetBeans is the IDE that we use to program FRC robots in Java. IDE stands for "integrated development environment", which means it's the program that acts like a text editor for your code, but also compiles and deploys the code. Other popular IDEs you may have heard of include Eclipse, jGRASP, and WindRiver. Compiling is the the IDE's way of checking your code for errors and translating your code to a binary file that's readable by the computer (in our case, the brains of the FRC robot: the cRIO). Deploying the code involves downloading such files onto the cRIO so that the robot can run it.
The next set of steps vary, depending on whether or not you've got JDK already installed on your machine. If you've never heard of JDK, you should follow the steps under Option 2. For this section, you only need to follow the directions under one option.
- Download NetBeans here. Be sure to select the right operating system. You can just download the "Java SE" bundle.
- Open your browser and go here to download the JDK + NetBeans bundle.
- Select the file that matches your operating system, and download it.
- Follow the installer's instructions.
Follow the "Setting up the Development Environment" instructions: http://wpilib.screenstepslive.com/s/3120/m/7885
That's it! Feel free to look through this document for more detailed information and tutorials on how to create your very own project.