How to Set Up Java in Visual Studio Code on Ubuntu

Visual Studio Code is a popular code editor used by many developers for various programming languages.

One of the languages that can be developed in Visual Studio Code is Java. In this article, we’ll guide you on how to set up Java in Visual Studio Code on Ubuntu.

Step 1: Install Java Development Kit (JDK)

The first step is to install the Java Development Kit (JDK) on your Ubuntu machine. JDK is a software development environment used to develop Java applications. To install the latest version of JDK, follow the steps below:

1. Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” in the Ubuntu dashboard.
2. Add the WebUpd8team Java PPA repository to your system by running the following command in the terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java

Update your system packages by running the following command:

sudo apt-get update

Install the latest version of JDK by running the following command:

sudo apt-get install oracle-java8-installer

Verify that JDK has been installed successfully by running the following command:

java -version

You should see the version of JDK that you just installed displayed in the output.

Step 2: Install Visual Studio Code

The next step is to install Visual Studio Code on your Ubuntu machine. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Open the terminal by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T or searching for “Terminal” in the Ubuntu dashboard.
2. Add the Microsoft GPG key by running the following command:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg
sudo mv microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/microsoft.gpg

Add the Visual Studio Code repository to your system by running the following command:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main"

Update your system packages by running the following command:

sudo apt-get update

Install Visual Studio Code by running the following command:

sudo apt-get install code

Step 3: Install the Java Extension Pack

After installing Visual Studio Code, the next step is to install the Java Extension Pack. This extension pack contains several extensions that are useful for developing Java applications in Visual Studio Code. To install the Java Extension Pack, follow the steps below:

1. Open Visual Studio Code by searching for “Visual Studio Code” in the Ubuntu dashboard.
2. Click on the Extensions icon on the left-hand side of the window. This will open the Extensions marketplace.
3. Search for “Java Extension Pack” and click on the Install button.
4. Once the extension is installed, you may be prompted to reload Visual Studio Code. Click on the Reload button to complete the installation.

Step 4: Create a Java Project

After installing the Java Extension Pack, you’re now ready to create a Java project in Visual Studio Code. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Click on the File menu and select New File.
3. Save the file with a .java extension. For example, HelloWorld.java.
4. Add the following code to the file:

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

5. Save the file by pressing Ctrl+S.
6. Press F5 to run the program.

If everything was set up correctly, you should see the output “Hello, World!” in the terminal.