Development Environment Setup

To start developing web applications, we need to set up our development environment. Here are the key components we’ll be using:

Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

We’ll be using IntelliJ IDEA for this course. IntelliJ IDEA provides powerful tools for Java and Spring Boot development.

• Download IntelliJ IDEA from: https://www.jetbrains.com/idea/download/

• Install the Community Edition (free) or the Ultimate Edition (paid, but free for students)

Java Development Kit (JDK)

We need the Java Development Kit to compile and run Java code.

• Download and install JDK 17 or later from: https://adoptium.net/

• Set up the JAVA_HOME environment variable

Version Control System

We’ll use Git for version control. It helps track changes in our code and collaborate with others.

• Download and install Git from: https://git-scm.com/downloads

• Configure Git with your name and email:

  git config --global user.name "Your Name"
  git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"
  

Build Tool

Maven will be our build tool. It manages project dependencies and the build process.

• Maven is usually bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, so separate installation may not be necessary

• If needed, download Maven from: https://maven.apache.org/download.cgi

Database

We’ll use PostgreSQL as our database system.

• Download and install PostgreSQL from: https://www.postgresql.org/download/

• Remember the password you set for the postgres user during installation

Next Steps

Once you have these tools installed, you’re ready to start developing web applications. In the next sections, we’ll dive into creating our first Spring Boot project and understanding its structure.