Downloading and Installing NetBeans IDE
Completion requirements
These instructions describe how to download and install NetBeans, a commonly used IDE for Java programming. Using an IDE means that you have all of the tools you need in one place (your "development environment") instead of having to organize things manually. Use the instructions in Step 2 to write a simple Java program called "Hello.java" and then compile and run it.
3. Read the NetBeans Documentation
At a minimum, you SHOULD READ the "IDE Basics, Getting Started, Java Application", which is accessible via NetBeans's "HELP" menu ⇒ Help Contents. This will save you many agonizing hours trying to figure out how to do somethings later.
The "Help" ⇒ "Online Doc and Support" (@ http://netbeans.org/kb/index.html) contains many articles and tutorial on using NetBeans.
The NetBeans "Start Page" also provides many useful links to get you started.