Installing the Languages of the Web
To get started writing software on FreeBSD, you first need to install the development libraries and utilities for your language of choice. After that, all you need is a program to code in. The vi editor is included in the base system; Vim is available through Ports, as is Emacs, JEdit, and Kate. If you like those modern, fancy GUI development environments, NetBeans, Eclipse, KDevelop, Anjuta, and Quanta are all available to you as well.
The following sections explain how to install language-specific resources. Follow the directions that are appropriate to your situation.
Java
Though it's in the process of being totally open-sourced as of this writing, the FreeBSD Project has a special distribution agreement for the Java Development Kit for the i386 and AMD64 platforms. Previously you had to manually retrieve a half-dozen files from various web sites before you could install the JDK. In FreeBSD 6.2 you only have to go to one web site and download one file. It's still not as simple as it could be, but it's much better than it was.
To install the Java Development Kit version 1.5, follow this process:
Go to this web site:
In the packages section, click the link for the JDK version and platform you wish to install. If FreeBSD 6.2 is not listed, click the link for 6.1—it will work just as well. You'll be brought to a license agreement screen that explains the terms by which you may use the software you're ...
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