Setup Java and VS Code on Ubuntu

Settings up your development environment for Java on Ubuntu is straight forward. We are going to install the Java SDK and VS code with the Java extension then create a simple Hello World app.

Find the available versions of Java JDK

First, we will search for the available packages to install. I'm looking for version 11, so my search will be.

$ sudo apt search openjdk-11

You will get similar to the following.

Sorting... Done
Full Text Search... Done
default-jdk/focal 2:1.11-72 amd64
  Standard Java or Java compatible Development Kit

openjdk-11-dbg/focal-security,focal-updates 11.0.8+10-0ubuntu1~20.04 amd64
  Java runtime based on OpenJDK (debugging symbols)

openjdk-11-demo/focal-security,focal-updates 11.0.8+10-0ubuntu1~20.04 amd64
  Java runtime based on OpenJDK (demos and examples)

openjdk-11-doc/focal-security,focal-security,focal-updates,focal-updates 11.0.8+10-0ubuntu1~20.04 all
  OpenJDK Development Kit (JDK) documentation

openjdk-11-jdk/focal-security,focal-updates 11.0.8+10-0ubuntu1~20.04 amd64
  OpenJDK Development Kit (JDK)

openjdk-11-jdk-headless/focal-security,focal-updates 11.0.8+10-0ubuntu1~20.04 amd64
  OpenJDK Development Kit (JDK) (headless)

openjdk-11-jre/focal-security,focal-updates,now 11.0.8+10-0ubuntu1~20.04 amd64 [installed,automatic]
  OpenJDK Java runtime, using Hotspot JIT

openjdk-11-jre-dcevm/focal 11.0.3+1-1 amd64
  Alternative VM for OpenJDK 11 with enhanced class redefinition

uwsgi-plugin-servlet-openjdk-11/focal 2.0.18-11ubuntu1 amd64
  JWSGI plugin for uWSGI (OpenJDK 11)

• You can change the number 11 and look for other versions of Java.

• As you can see openjdk-11-jdk is available. So let's install it.

Install Java JDK

Now we will install the Java JDK using one command.

$ sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk

Verify that Java installation using the following.

$ sudo java -version

The output should be similar to.

openjdk version "11.0.1" 2020-04-14
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.1+7-Ubuntu-1ubuntu1)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.1+7-Ubuntu-1ubuntu1, mixed mode, sharing)

Install VS code

You can use the following command to do so.

sudo snap install --classic code

If snap is not available, you can use apt by following this post.

Install Java Extension Pack

Launch VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P), paste the following command, and press enter.

ext install vscjava.vscode-java-pack

Run A Hello World App

1 - Open VS code.
2 - Create a file called Hello.java.
3 - Paste the following code. And save it.

public class Hello {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        System.out.println("Hello World!");

    }


}

4- Open the Debug tab and click on Run and Debug.

5- The output in the terminal should be.

Credit

This post was based on the information from the linuxconfig post .