Get Ready to Code: Writing Your First Java Program

Why “Hello, World!”?

This iconic program is more than just a friendly greeting. It’s a fundamental building block that introduces you to the basic syntax of a programming language, helping you grasp the structure before diving deeper. Don’t worry if you don’t fully understand how it works just yet – we’ll break it down in upcoming tutorials.

Write, Run, and Celebrate!

For now, simply write the program and run it. Congratulations are in order – you’ve just written your first Java program!

public class HelloWorld {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello, World!");
    }
}

Decoding the Magic

Let’s dissect the code and explore how it works. Take a closer look at this line:

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

Here’s what you need to remember about System.out.println():

• Enclose what you want to print within parentheses ( ).
• Wrap the text in double quotes “”.
• End each System.out.println() statement with a semicolon ;.

Failure to follow these rules will result in errors, so make sure to get it right!

The Anatomy of a Java Program

As we’ve seen, even a simple program requires several lines of code. Don’t worry – every Java program we write will follow this basic structure:

{... }

We’ll fill in the blanks with our code, and soon you’ll be writing like a pro! Next up, we’ll explore the world of Java comments.