Description
The purpose of this assignment is threefold: get a basic introduction to the Unix operating system, to learn
how to create and edit text files using either the Vi or Emacs text editors, and to learn to compile and run a
Java program.
Preparation
Before attempting this assignment, begin reading one of the Unix tutorials linked on the course website.
You need not complete the tutorial, but find one that you like, start it and bookmark it for future reference.
Vi and Emacs are two very popular text editors available on all Unix systems. Also start reading one of the
Vi tutorials, or the Emacs tutorial that are linked on the course website.
Unix
In order to submit any work in this class, you must first logon to your Unix Timeshare account
(unix.ucsc.edu). For those running any version of Windows, you can do this by downloading a program
called PuTTy. Go to http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html, download and
then run the file putty.exe. Fill in unix.ucsc.edu as the Host Name, 22 as the port number, SSH as the
connection type, then press open. Type your CruzID at the login prompt and give your Blue password. If
you are running either Mac OSX or Linux, open a terminal window and type the command:
ssh cruzid@unix.ucsc.edu
where cruzid is your CruzID, then respond with your Blue password. If all this was done correctly you
are now logged on to the Unix Timeshare. You will see a prompt that most likely looks like: bash-4.1$.
This is the Unix command prompt, indicating that the command interpreter is waiting for you to type a
command. In the examples that follow, I will represent this prompt by the single character: %. If any of the
above steps failed and you cannot logon, you’ll need to attend a lab session and get help.
Type ls to list the contents of your home directory. Use the command mkdir to create a new directory
called cs12a in which you will place all work for this class. Type ls again to see the new cs12a directory
listed. Make cs12a your current working directory by typing cd cs12a at the command prompt.
% ls
% mkdir cs12a
% ls
% cd cs12a
Remember that % here represents the Unix command prompt and you do not type it. You can learn about
any Unix command by typing man at the command prompt. Try:
% man mkdir
% man ls
% man cd
% man man
Man pages are notorious for being cryptic and even impenetrable, especially for beginners. Typically, they
assume a great deal of background knowledge. Nevertheless, you must get used to reading them since they
are an invaluable resource. Use the man pages in conjunction with the tutorial to build up your vocabulary
of Unix commands. Also try using Google to find Unix commands. For instance, a Google search on the
2
phrase “unix copy” brings up a reference to the cp command. Research the following Unix commands,
either through the tutorial, or man pages, or Google: man, ls, pwd, cd, mkdir, more, less, cp, cat, rm,
rmdir, mv, echo, date, time, alias, history. You can also try just typing the command and see what
happens. Create a subdirectory of cs12a called lab1 and cd into it, then type pwd to confirm your location.
% mkdir lab1
% cd lab1
% pwd
The output of the last command should look something like
/afs/cats.ucsc.edu/users/f/cruzid/cs12a/lab1
where cruzid is your CruzID and the letter f may be different for you. This is the full path name of your
current working directory. See http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/unix2.1/lrnunix/ch03_01.htm for more on the
Unix directory structure. It is highly recommended that you create separate subdirectories of cs12a for
every lab and programming assignment in this class.
Editors
Using either the Vi or Emacs text editor create a file in your lab1 directory called HelloWorld.java
containing the following lines. This file can be found on the course website under Examples/lab1.
// HelloWorld.java
class HelloWorld{
public static void main(String[] args){
System.out.println(“Hello, world!”);
}
}
This is a Java source file. Close the editor and type more HelloWorld.java at the command prompt to
view the contents of the file.
Java
In order to run the program, we must first compile it. A compiler is a program that translates source code
into executable code, which is what the computer understands. To compile the above program type
% javac HelloWorld.java
You should see the unix prompt (%) disappear for a few seconds while it works, then reappear. List the
contents of lab1 again to see the new file HelloWorld.class. This is a Java executable file. You can now
run the program by typing
% java HelloWorld
This command should cause the words
Hello, world!
to be printed to the screen, followed by a new command prompt on the command line. We will have a lot
more to say about the proper use and syntax of the Java programming language, but for now just note that
what is printed to the screen is exactly what appears between quotes in the line
3
System.out.println(“Hello, world!”);
in the source file HelloWorld.java. Also note that everything after // on a line constitutes a comment
and is ignored by the compiler. Every program you write in this class must begin with a comment block of
the following form.
// filename
// your Name
// your CruzID
// the assignment name (like lab1 or pa1)
// a very short description of what the program does
Open up your editor and change the comment block in HelloWorld.java to conform to the above format.
Also change the body of the program so that it prints out your name:
Hello, my name is Foo Bar.
where Foo is your first name and Bar is your last name. Compile the new program and run it. If it does not
compile, i.e. if you get error messages when you run javac, look for some stray character that you might
have inserted into the file inadvertently, or perhaps a required character you failed to type.
Now create a new text file called HelloWorld2.java containing the lines
// HelloWorld2.java
// your Name
// your CruzID
// lab1
// prints greeting and some system information.
class HelloWorld2{
public static void main( String[] args ){
String os = System.getProperty(“os.name”);
String osVer = System.getProperty(“os.version”);
String jre = System.getProperty(“java.runtime.name”);
String jreVer = System.getProperty(“java.runtime.version”);
String jvm = System.getProperty(“java.vm.name”);
String jvmVer = System.getProperty(“java.vm.version”);
String home = System.getProperty(“java.home”);
double freemem = Runtime.getRuntime().freeMemory();
long time = System.currentTimeMillis();
System.out.println(“Hello, World!”);
System.out.println(“Operating system: “+os+” “+osVer);
System.out.println(“Runtime environment: “+jre+” “+jreVer);
System.out.println(“Virtual machine: “+jvm+” “+jvmVer);
System.out.println(“Java home directory: “+home);
System.out.println(“Free memory: “+freemem+” bytes”);
System.out.printf(“Time: %tc.%n”, time);
}
}
Compile and run this program by doing
% javac HelloWorld2.java
% java HelloWorld2
You will see that it prints something like
4
Hello, World!
Operating system: Linux 2.6.32-504.12.2.el6.x86_64
Runtime environment: OpenJDK Runtime Environment 1.7.0_75-mockbuild_2015_01_20_23_39-b00
Virtual machine: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM 24.75-b04
Java home directory: /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.7.0-openjdk-1.7.0.75.x86_64/jre
Free memory: 1.22431496E8 bytes
Time: Sun Mar 29 14:05:04 PDT 2016.
The exact output you get will depend on the date and time you run it, as well as the platform you are working
on. You can see that the extra lines in this version of the program have the effect of collecting and printing
certain platform specific information. The meaning of these lines may be discussed in class at some point.
Now edit this file once more so that the comment block contains your name and CruzID, and alter the
greeting so that it prints
Hello, my name is Foo Bar
where Foo Bar is your name, as before. Recompile your program, wring out any typographical errors you
might find, then test it.
What to turn in
Read the instructions on the website concerning the use of the submit command. Briefly, the syntax of the
submit command is
% submit class_name assignment_name file1 file2 file3 …
Here class_name will be cmps012a-pt.w17 for all Lab and Programming assignments you turn in. The
assignment_name in this case is lab1. Submit the two source files HelloWorld.java and
HelloWorld2.java. Thus your submit command will be
% submit cmps012a-pt.w17 lab1 HelloWorld.java HelloWorld2.java
This command must be typed from within your lab1 directory where these source files reside, or you will
get error messages. Start early and ask questions in the lab sessions or office hours if anything is unclear.