# Java on Apple Machines **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/java-on-apple-machines/472637 "2008-11-14T00:53:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![uznuS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b2d939/32.png) [@uznuS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uznuS)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/java-on-apple-machines/472637/1 "2008-11-14T00:53:24Z")
I am stuck trying to figure out what to do with a .java program on my mac. If I open up the file in a text editor, I can see the source code. Does this mean that the file needs to be compiled or do macs have a java compiler built-in? thanks! ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/java-on-apple-machines/472637/2 "2008-11-14T00:56:38Z")
I can’t speak to Mac, but every other platform I’ve coded Java on (Windows, AS400, Sun) you had to run a .java file through the javac compiler. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/java-on-apple-machines/472637/3 "2008-11-14T00:58:03Z")
Java is pretty platform agnostic, so I would assume that yes, you need to compile it. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Solomon\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/59ef9b/32.png) [@King\_Solomon\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Solomon_Hill)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/java-on-apple-machines/472637/4 "2008-11-14T01:50:24Z")
OS X kind of has a Java compiler built in. Xcode can compile Java programs, it come free with OS X but isn’t always in the standard install. You should be able to install it from your original OS X cd’s if you have them. I’ve no idea how much experience you have when it come to Java, but be aware that although it’s supposed to be platorm independent, compilng a Java program designed for another system isn’t always straightforward. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/java-on-apple-machines/472637/5 "2008-11-14T01:55:47Z")
If you open a terminal window, navigate to the folder with the .java file, and type javac yourfile.java, it should compile. Then type java yourfile.class and it should work. Assuming ./ is in your path. If not, replace yourfile with ./yourfile ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/java-on-apple-machines/472637/6 "2008-11-14T03:38:00Z")
> [@Flymaster](#): > > If you open a terminal window, navigate to the folder with the .java file, and type javac yourfile.java, it should compile. Then type java yourfile.class and it should work. Assuming ./ is in your path. If not, replace yourfile with ./yourfile Note that javac won’t be installed by default; you’ll have to install the Developer Tools package from your OS X CD’s if you haven’t already done it. Once you’ve got that, you’ll have standard commandline compilers available for just about everything, plus XCode which is super awesome. ---
**Author:** ![uznuS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b2d939/32.png) [@uznuS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uznuS)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/java-on-apple-machines/472637/7 "2008-11-14T05:13:00Z")
javac worked without having purposely installed xcode…thanks!