What is littleJ?
A light Java shell that allows you to quickly run code snippets
and get the result. You get continuous as-you-type compilation and error reporting,
as well as built-in utility methods, like UserUtils.show(...) and
$(...) to dump an object into a nicely formatted, readable HTML table.
You can run code from memory, without saving the file. If you have multiple JDKs installed,
you can tell littleJ which one to use.
Quick Start
Download and install littleJ. It doesn't come packaged with the JDK, so the first time you run it, littleJ will ask you where your JDK is installed. The JDK you browse to will be used to compile your code. You can change this setting later through the Settings dialog.
Java is required to run littleJ. If Java is not installed, you will be prompted to download the JDK.
Please take care to download the JDK (Java Development Kit), not the JRE (Java Runtime Environment). If you download the JRE instead of the JDK, littleJ will be able to run, but won't be able to compile your code.
Once littleJ is running, you can type in some code and click the Run button. The output, including any object dumps, will be displayed in the Results pane.
You can choose a syntax mode (Expression, Method, or Program). To see some examples, hover over the syntax mode drop-down, or click here.
Import additional jars by clicking the Snippet Imports button.
Licensing
littleJ (beta) is free for personal or commercial use under this EULA.
Third-party Libraries
littleJ uses the following third-party libraries: