1: Naming is a hard problem

Before you start, you must choose a good name for your project. Basic rules for getting a good name is as follow. Use hyphen to separate words. Only non-cap letters or numbers allowed. Don't start with a number or hyphen. Two or more contiguous hyphens is forbidden. No trailing hypens.

Some examples of good project names:

hello-robot
advanced-drone-controller
ele115-assignment-1

Some examples of bad project names:

untitled
myfirstproject
project123

Note: your project name shall not be in conflict with Java keywords or literals:

true      false     null
abstract  continue  for         new        switch
assert    default   goto        package    synchronized
boolean   do        if          private    this
break     double    implements  protected  throw
byte      else      import      public     throws
case      enum      instanceof  return     transient
catch     extends   int         short      try
char      final     interface   static     void
class     finally   long        strictfp   volatile
const     float     native      super      while

2: Use the project templete

Whenver you have a good name for your project, you can begin with the following:

1. Open IntelliJ IDEA.
2. Click Create New Project.
3. In the left panel, select User-defined.
4. In the right panel, select ELE115.
5. Click Next.
6. Type your project's name.
7. Click Finish.

Note: If you don't see User-defined, checkout Setup Guide 3.2: Download ELE115 project template.

You should now see the IntelliJ IDEA workspace fully unwinded for you. But don't panic, and don't touch anywhere for now. Follow the instructions.

Note: If you see Invalid VCS root mapping prompt, simply close it.

Note: If you see Tips of the day dialog, simply click Close.

Note: We recommend NOT TO click Import Gradle Project for now. However, if you did, you can reimport it as described in Step 4.

3: Edit Gradle files

To the left there is Project panel, in which you can see a list of files. We need to manually modify some files (double click on a file to open it) before we can proceed. So follow the instructions:

1. In file settings.gradle, replace <your-project-name> with your project name.
2. In file build.gradle, replace ALL occurancess of <your_project_name> with your project name, but using underscores instead of hyphens to separate words.
3. In file build.gradle, replace ALL occurancess of <your_netid> with your netid. No capital characters.

Note: Make sure to remove < and >. For example:

mainClassName = 'com.github.ele115.b1f6c1c4.my_project.Main'

Note: If you see Non-Project Files Protection dialog, simply click OK.

Just for your curiousity:

• .editorconfig: Specifies your coding style - what is allowed and what is forbidden. You don't need to touch it.
• .gitignore: What files should belongs to your program and what should not. You don't need to touch it.
• build.gradle: This is the most important configuration file, denoting some key characteristics of your program: You MUST modify this file
  • Which language is your program written in?
  • Who wrote the program?
  • Where should the program start running?
  • Does the program depend on other programs? What are they? Where can I find them?
• gradle.properties: This file tweaks some auxiliary features in Gradle. You don't need to touch it.
• gradlew/gradlew.bat: These are auxiliary programs that reads build.gradle and compiles your program. You don't need to touch it.
  • gradlew is for Linux and Mac OS users. Do NOT remove this file, even if you are not using Linux or Mac OS.
  • gradlew.bat is for Windows users. Do NOT remove this file, even if you are not using Windows.
• settings.gradle: This file records your program's name. You MUST modify this file.
• External Libraries: This is NOT an actual file nor folder. IntelliJ IDEA will be listing all your dependencies here. You don't need to touch it.
• Scratches and Consoles: This is NOT an actual file nor folder. IntelliJ IDEA allows you to store unused files here. You don't need to touch it.

4: Import Gradle Project

Please double check: your project name in mainClassName has underscores instead of hyphens.

So now all Gradle-related stuffs are ready. At the bottom right corner of your workspace, there should be a box titled IntelliJ IDEA found a Gradle build script. In the box, click the Import Gradle Project.

This process may take seconds to minutes to execute. What is happening is that gradlew/gradlew.bat is being executed and build.gradle is parsed. Gradle noticed that you are willing to use Tello controller libraries, so it is actively downloading it for you. The controller is, unfortunately, gigantic in its size: 800MiB in total! No wonder why it takes so long to download.

Just sit and wait for the process to finish.

Note: If you accidentally clicked Skip or closed the small box or just can't find such box, don't worry! There is a small magnifier icon at the top right corner of your workspace. Click the magnifier, and type Import Gradle Project. Hit enter and that it! Just wait for it to finish. Conatct TA if you don't see Import Gradle Project (exact words) there.

After several minutes (or a fraction of second if this is not the very first time), you should notice two things:

• To the right of your entire workspace, there is a new panel Gradle popped up. You may ignore this panel
• To the left, your Project panel has changed. Files are grouped together. New files and folders appear:
  • .gradle folder: this is where Gradle put some temporary files. You don't need to touch it.
  • .idea folder: this is where IntelliJ IDEA put its files in. You don't need to touch it.
  • build folder (you may not see it now, but you will see it soon): this is where Gradle put its output files in. You don't need to touch it.
  • gradle folder: internal settings for Gradle are stored here. You don't need to touch it.
  • src/main/java folder: Here is where you should put your program files in!

You may minimize the Gradle panel since we are not going to use it - just click the minus sign at the top right corner of the panel to minimize it.

Now, click the blue triangle at the top right corner of your workspace. A dialog should prompt out, and you shall click YES, YES, and then OK.

Note: If you can't find the blue triangle, maybe you forgot to Install the plugin.

Note: If you only see one error dialog, maybe you installed the wrong version of the plugin. Please consult TA for such issue.

5: Setup Git

Note: If you are creating a project simply for fun, then you may ignore this step. However, we do encourage everyone to use Git to manage their development process.

Please follow the Guide on setting up Git.

It is highly recommanded that you Create a commit immediately after you Import Gradle Project and right before you add any single line of Java code.

6: Start programming and have fun

Congratulations! All your configurations have completed, we can commence coding!

To start coding, follow the instructions:

1. In Project panel, unfold <your-project-name>.
2. In Project panel, right-click on the folder src/main/java, click New/Java Class.
3. In the New Java Class dialog, fill in Name field by com.github.ele115.<your_netid>.<your_project_name>.Main. Remember, <your_project_name> should use underscores instead of hyphens to separate words.

Start writing your program now!

Whenver you want to execute your program, simply hit Shift+F10, or click the little green triangle at the top right corner of your workspace. IntelliJ IDEA will launch gradlew/gradlew.bat, which will do the following:

• Parse build.gradle, understand what's going on
• Download newly added dependencies for you (if you request more)
• Compile your program
• Execute your program from the specified entrance

At the bottom you can see the output of Gradle, middle of which is your program's output.