Here's a sort of starter kit for newcomers to Java^TM technology -- a route through our web site for teaching yourself about Java technology and for writing applets and applications as soon as possible.

If you're brand new to Java technology, take a look at What Is the Java Platform, which provides an excellent introduction.

If you're technically inclined, another good place to start is a white paper, The Java Programming Language Environment.

    http://java.sun.com/docs/white/langenv

Next, if you haven't already done so, download a copy of the Java Development Kit (JDK^TM) software:

    http://java.sun.com/products/OV_jdkProduct.html

    http://java.sun.com/tutorial/index.html

Note: This is an on-line version of The Java Programming Language Tutorial by Mary Campione and Kathy Walrath.

After this, you'll know enough to follow your interests and dig deeper: class APIs, the Java Programming Language Specification, and so on, all of which you can find starting from our documentation page:

    http://java.sun.com/docs/

There's also a lot to learn from applets written by others, and many applet writers make their source code available on their web pages. See

    http://java.sun.com/applets/

for pointers to applets that we and others have written. Note that some of the pages here have beta applets and others have alpha applets.

Finally, you can use the Java technology-related newsgroups (such as comp.lang.java) to ask questions and discuss the Java programming language. And visit the Java Developer Connection^SM website for additional tutorials, articles, and discussions.

Enjoy!