Building Projects

When you click on the Java WorkShop Build button the builder builds the current based on the information (source files, compiler options, class paths, and so on) that you specified when you created the project. You can change the project's build information at any time by editing the project's build attributes.

Build commands can also be accessed from the Build menu.


This page describes the most typical method for building projects. You may want to consider the following options when building your programs:

To build a project:

  1. Use the Project Manager to choose a project.
  2. Click on to start the build.


    You can also start the build using commands in the Build menu.

  3. As the build proceeds, the command line passed to the compiler is displayed in the Build tab at the bottom of the window. This information consists of:

    If the build completes without encountering any errors, the message "Done building project-name" is displayed in the Build tab.

    If errors are encountered:

To stop a build before it completes, choose Build -> Stop Build.

To correct syntax errors reported during compilation:

  1. In the Build tab, click on the link that contains the name of the file in which the error occurred. This automatically loads that file into the WorkShop source editor. The line containing the error is centered and highlighted.

    A message is issued in the Build tab for each error. Error messages have the following components:

  2. If necessary, check the file out from the version control system.
  3. Fix the errors using the source editor, and save the file.
  4. When you have fixed all of the errors, click on to restart the build.


    You can use Build -> Next Error and Build -> Previous Error to move back and forth between errors in the Build tab.

See also:

Build Menu
Javac Help Page
Java Compiler Preferences Dialog Box
jwsbuild -- Batch Builder
Editing Source
Debugging Projects
What Is a Project?