There are many ways to create Java programs using CodeWarrior but this page describes the default (i.e., simplest) way to create a program. Once you've spent a few weeks in the course, you can learn how to vary from this default process.

Creating a new Code Warrior project (from scratch)
When you want to create a new Java program using CodeWarrior, you first ask CW to create a new project. At a basic level, CodeWarrior associates projects with folders. In 15-100, we'll always associate a program with a folder and assume that everything needed for a program will exist inside that basic folder. Although CodeWarrior also creates additional subfolders within the program folder, you don't need to worry about them.
 

Using an existing Code Warrior project
When you've worked on a CW project in an earlier session (or if you've copied a previous project folder to start a new project), less work is needed.
 

Renaming your program files
By default, your program will be called "Trivial Application" -- of course, you don't want this name for every program. Unfortunately, it is not completely trivial to make this change in CW.

At this point, I'll assume that you've already started the Metrowerks CodeWarrior IDE (integrated development environment).

Creating a CW Project (i.e., program) from scratch

• Click on the File menu from the task bar

• Select New... from the File menu -- this generally means that you want to create a new project.  Click the Project tab to move it on top (so that the File & Object tabs underneath).  A window that looks something like the following will appear.
The window asks for information about the kind of project that you want to create. The graphic shown has more types of  project stationery (because I also use CodeWarrior to write programs in other languages). You'll probably only see three to five items.

• You will want to make the following changes to this. window:
• click on Java J2SE Stationery.
IMPORTANT: do not click on any of the other Java project templates. The "Wizard" options are only appropriate for experienced users. The "Empty Project" option will not give you a starting point.
• change the Location: textbox to be C:\desktop (when in the cluster)
when you're on your own machine, make this your program coursework folder
• type in a name for your program project in the Project Name: textbox. CW will automatically create a subfolder for this program in the location you've indicated.
notice that the Location: textbox automatically appends the project name to the location path
• click OK

• After clicking OK, a second smaller window should appear. You should see one option Generic -- click on theboxed-plus sign to its left.
The resulting window should look something like the following.
 If you find more than one Generic option, click here to figure out what to do.

• In this smaller window, highlight the Java Application option and then click OK. The "Java Library" and "Java App-Applet" are for more experienced programmers. Later in the course, we will explore the "Java Applet" option.

• At this point, CW will spend a few seconds creating the project folder and the MCP (Metrowerks Codewarrior Project) window will appear. Click the boxed-plus next to Sources, and the window should look like this.

 
• By clicking on TrivialApplication.java, you will invoke CW's editor to allow you to start to modify the program. On the Macs, you won't see the project's folder until you click on the mac desktop.

Using an existing CW project:

In the folder that CW creates, there will always be a file that stores the information corresponding to the MCP window (see the preceding graphic).  The mcp file's basic name will be the same as the project folder's name.

It is possible to have multiple files (of different varieties) with the same name and it will often be the case that the mcp file name is the same as a Java code file name. Windows always uses extensions (suffixes) to make the distinction; however, Macs sometimes use more sophisticated distinctions.

In either environment, when you display your folder using icons, the mcp file looks like it has a diagram, while the Java code file looks like it has written text.

For example, suppose the project (folder) is called  Attempt1 - in either environment the basic name of the mcp file will also be Attempt1. But if the project was created

in a Windows environment, the full file name is Attempt1.mcp

on a Mac, the full file name is Attempt1

Windows users who start projects on a Mac before transferring the project to a Windows environment should add the .mcp extension to the file name before trying to use the project with Windows.

Starting an existing CW project also differs between the two environments.

In Windows, when you double click on an mcp file, you start CodeWarrior (if necessary) and activate the project associated with the mcp file.

On a Mac, when you first start, you can double click on an mcp file to automatically invoke CodeWarrior. However, once the CW program is running, this "trick" no longer works.  This occurs because the Mac's CW keeps track of your usage over your entire programming session. Instead, these are your options:

• access the File menu and either
• click the Open Recent... submenu (to reopen a project you worked on earlier in the session)
• click the Open... submenu (to open a pre-existing project you haven't earlier worked with)
• close the CodeWarrior application (so that it is no longer running) and then you can once again double click the mcp file

Renaming in CW-based Projects:

There are two reasons to change the names involved with projects. First, your Java program will be called Trivial_Application by default, and, of course, you don't want to use this name for major programs. Second, if you want to use an existing program you've created as a starting point for a new project, you'll also need to change names.

To address the latter issue, you first need to change the name of the folder and the name of the mcp file. Then, you'll need to change the names of at least some of  the Java files.

Each Java file should have its own unique name.  The Java file's name is supposed to match the internal "class" name of the Java file. Neither is hard to do in a low-level (basic) Java environment but it is more complicated when using CodeWarrior.

Although the process described below involves more work than with a basic environment, CW avoids different issues which would become important in a basic Java environment. For example, CW's mcp is a graphical replacement for "basic" makefiles which you would otherwise have to learn.  If you choose to take additional CS courses, you will probably learn the basic environment (at least in 211).

Renaming the components of a project.

For our example, let's suppose we want to change the name of the program "TrivialApplication" to "Demo1".

• You first need to change the name of the class TrivialApplication within the source file  to Demo1.  All that this step requires is to change the phrase "TrivialApplication" that follows the word "class" to  "Demo1".

• Next, the name of the program file must be the same as the name of the class that it holds. You  must change the file's name from "TrivialApplication.java" to "Demo1.java". The simplest way to do this is as follows:

• Open the TrivialApplication.java file (if it is not already open)
• next, bring down the File menu from the task bar and click on Save As...
• this opens a window and, you can type Demo1.java in the File name: textbox.

 
This not only changes the file name (note the change on the title bar of the editing window) but it also automatically replaces TrivialApplication by Demo1 in the MCP window.

• Finally, you need to "tell" CW that there is a new main program: For reasons that are hard to explain to new users, we have to further update the MCP file so that the new name for the main program is the also changed. To do this,

select the Edit menu from the taskbar and select Java Application Settings...; the Java Applications Settings window will appear

although this window looks rather complicated, click on Java Target (within the subgroup Target of the Target Settings Panels on the LHS). After clicking this, the RHS will show the information that you need. The window should look similar to the graphic below

change the Main Class: textbox from TrivialApplication to Demo1 and then click the Save button

click the x (close window) button on window's title bar to close the window

This footnote is a warning for students who have more than the just the one Generic option when creating a new Java project.
I know of two reasons why this can happen. Either

a) you're using a older computer which was previously used for Java programming or
b) you're using an older version of CodeWarrior.